Nominations for the 2016 Queensland Youth Parliament are now open and Member for Gregory Lachlan Millar is hoping an enthusiastic Youth Member will nominate to represent Gregory.

“Participants do not have to know anything about politics, but they will learn a lot about writing, public speaking and debate, teamwork and how parliament works,” said Mr Millar.

“It is a fantastic program which young people can be proud to add to their portfolio of achievement.  As an additional benefit, Year 11 and Year 12 participants receive one point towards their Queensland Certificate of Education.”

The program is open to Queenslanders between the ages of 15 to 25. Participants attend a residential camp to learn about parliamentary processes and are assigned a Queensland electorate to represent as the Youth Member.

“As much as possible, youth members are assigned to their home seat, or a nearby seat, so we are looking for the next Youth Member for Gregory. There have been years when Gregory has had two participants and in that case one became the Youth Member for Rockhampton,” he said.

The Youth Parliamentarians travel to Brisbane later in the year to take their seats in the Youth Parliament which is held in Queensland’s Parliament House.

“Between the camp and the sitting, the participants work together in committees to draft bills on issues of interest to them. These bills are then formally debated by the youth MPs in the Legislative Chamber,” said Mr Millar.

 “The youth bills do not become law but are presented to the relevant minister and previous youth bills have helped inform actual legislation.”

Further information and nomination forms can be found at www.ymcaqyp.org.