St Joseph's Nudgee College

August 29, 2011

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St Joseph’s Nudgee College Year 7 students got first hand advice regarding politics last week when Mr Neil Roberts MP visited the College.

This term, Year 7 students have been studying a unit on Government and Democracy as part of their Study of Society and its Environment (SOSE) subject. To assist the boys with their mock parliamentary bill passing assessment they received a special visit from a member of parliament.

Queensland Parliamentary Member for Nudgee and Minister for Police, Corrective Services and Emergency Services, Mr Roberts, spoke to the boys about the three levels of government and what role he plays as a minister in state parliament.

The students also had an opportunity to ask questions of Mr Roberts. Queries from the floor included: what was Mr Robert’s role during the flood disaster and Cyclone Yasi; how do you become involved in emergency services; what’s the most difficult part of Mr Robert’s job; and what is the process for developing and passing a bill through parliament and having it implemented?

The boys learnt that one of Mr Roberts’s role as a Minister is to ensure the things that are meant to be done by front line agencies and professionals are being done and to be a public face and ensure the community has confidence in these groups.

Mr Roberts explained that developing bills meant making decisions that affected people’s lives and that was a big responsibility.

Mrs Sian Kennedy, Year 7 Teacher, said “Nothing beats bringing ‘real life’ into the classroom”.

“Changing text books into something that is both relevant and applicable to the boys’ lives is invaluable.”