Ken Wyatt (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

They may be at that, member for Bass. I also enjoyed having the Deputy Speaker, the Hon. Peter Slipper, coming to Thornlie in my electorate and running a session with the students of Thornlie Senior High School. I was talking with the students afterwards and I asked them how they found the experience. What they liked was the fact that they went through a process that we take for granted in this House. What I hope to see is that at some point all of us as parliamentarians in this House indulge ourselves in the same process so that we can teach what this institution and democracy are about and the importance of people having the freedom of speech to speak on matters that are important to them as individuals. We can teach them to understand that we operate within a party context but also within a Westminster system of government with tiers of government. What we do not see very often is young people having an understanding of how this great House works.

To the credit of those teachers who take year 11 and year 12 classes through the various aspects of political structures and the range of views that exist—from fascism through to the democracy that we enjoy—that is extremely enlightening for future generations. I know that in this House, while we may be separated in terms of being in parties of differing political persuasions, the friendships that we develop within that context enable us to better contribute to the public life of all Australians. When I look at the references where the display is, I see some great statements from future young leaders. They reflect many of the issues that are extremely important to them.

Nevertheless, as the Speaker, Mr Harry Jenkins, said yesterday, some of the comments were not dissimilar to the comments that we were once making in the campaigns we were involved in when we were much younger—when we were in our twenties.

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