The many complex truths within the ‘censoring' of youth parliament
The tri-annual return of youth parliament this week was not without its controversies. 123 youth MPs and 20 youth press gallery members descended on parliament for three days of training and debates, and while many of these teens gave great speeches in the House, the attention has been on what they supposedly haven't been allowed to say.
Youth parliament – despite what its name may suggest – is a non-partisan learning experience for young people who want to be politically engaged. And if you talked to these teens, you'd realise many of them already are – they're in advocacy groups, are dedicated posters to certain Reddit forums, already have fully-fledged political leanings they don't want to budge on and also have an MP whispering politicking tricks in their ears.
It was a truly divided parliament this week: with one side desperately telling the media they've been censored, and the other desperately telling the media they haven't. As always, when it comes to politics, the truth is more nuanced than just one position.
Truth #1: Claims of censorship haven't been totally genuine. It's more accurate to say that the ministry of youth development made suggestions to speeches, which the youth MPs were allowed to accept or deny, and these rules were also in place for the 2022 youth parliament. Yeah, it sounds silly, but this is a non-partisan event and the youth MPs know this, and at the end of the day, everyone still spoke their piece.
Truth #2: Youth MPs are not protected by parliamentary privileges – if they defame a minister, they can be taken to court.
Truth #3: Those crying wolf about censorship were mostly aligned with Make It 16, Gen-Z Aotearoa and SchoolStrike4Climate. Make It 16 and SchoolStrike4Climate have both described themselves as 'non-partisan', though their values tend to align with left-leaning politics, specifically those you might find within the Green Party kaupapa.
Truth #4: Those teens pulled a pretty bloody good PR stunt, especially from a political campaigning group which hasn't yet been able to have much sway on voting age policy, and another which has been largely operating under the radar for the last few years while the government abandons its climate targets.
Truth #5: NZ First and Act youth MPs did have a chance to take back the narrative, but they bungled their press conference by letting their progressive peers hijack it.
Truth #6: There are plenty of 16-year-olds who would feel intimidated by an authoritative figure – especially a government official – making suggestions about their work. The ministry should have been clearer about its expectations.
Truth #7: In a way, some of the progressive party-aligned kids are almost guilty of censorship themselves, having attempted a walkout during a speech from Winston Peters' youth MP, and trying to shut up Karen Chhour's youth MP by raising multiple points of order during his speech. This is where the censorship argument gets tricky, you see – wouldn't the likes of the Free Speech Union and David Seymour argue that that is a form of suppressing speech?
Truth #8: There are far more racist and controversial things said on a near-weekly basis in this House than anything these youth MPs have said.
Truth #9: Unfortunately in life, you have to listen to opinions you don't want to listen to. Unfortunately as a politician, you do this basically every day, and can't always run away from it.
Truth #10: The 'real' politicians also have ministry officials and press secretaries begging them not to say something that will get them, their party or their agency in trouble.
Truth #11: There were concerns about censorship among some of the youth press gallery members, too, though the ministry has described the checking-over of these stories as 'moderating' rather than editing.
Truth #12: This does lead into an editorial grey area, because while the youth press gallery is supposed to operate under the same expectations as the youth MPs, having a ministry shape the story up to their standard, and then encouraging budding reporters to pitch these stories to independent outlets, is kind-of just like sending out a government press release.
Truth #13: But this also teaches you some valuable lessons in journalism: how to recognise spin, how to deal with an editor you don't agree with and what to expect when an entity doesn't want you to reveal the worst of them.
Truth #14: And, at the end of the day, you go into journalism to be a reporter, not an activist. One youth gallery reporter held the tino rangatiratanga flag over the bannister, others gave their peers standing ovations – the reality of being in the press gallery is that you are the observer, not the demonstrator. And everyone in that House deserves an equal level of scrutiny.
Truth #15: All the drama that has gone down this week only proves that youth parliament has done its job: teaching these kids how to be effective politicians – and in the modern era, this often looks a lot like controlling the media narrative.
Truth #16: It also suggests the future of our political landscape looks like more publicity stunts, and less cross-party communication, which is a shame.
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RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
Prime Minister's office only given hour's notice before Winston Peters' speech dismissing 'trade war'
Christopher Luxon and Winston Peters. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone The Prime Minister's office was only given an hour's notice of the contents of a speech by the Foreign Affairs minister, in which Winston Peters criticised the language used by politicians regarding a "trade war." While Peters did not name Christopher Luxon in his speech, it was seen as a veiled swing at a series of phone calls the Prime Minister made to other world leaders over US tariffs , and the lack of notice he had been given ahead of a Foreign Policy speech by the Prime Minister a few days earlier. Correspondence first obtained by Newsroom and also released to RNZ show the communications Peters' office had with officials ahead of the speech in Hawai'i, and the notice it gave the Prime Minister's office. On 10 April, the Prime Minister delivered a speech to the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, in which he said free trade was "worth fighting for" and raised the idea of CPTPP and European Union nations working together to champion rules-based trade. He also announced his intention to speak to other world leaders about trade, amid the tariffs which had then-recently been announced by US President Donald Trump. The same afternoon, Peters told reporters at Parliament such remarks were "all very premature," and confirmed the Prime Minister had not discussed with him the idea of getting CPTPP and EU nations together. A day later, Peters was in Tonga, and during a press conference advised politicians to "tone down" and wait for the dust to settle. "Markets lose their nerve. Share market speculators lose their nerve. Politicians should not lose their nerve." He also said the Prime Minister should consult with him. "He didn't check it out when he made that speech and made those phone calls. And so I hope that he'll get my message and he'll call me next time." From there, Peters was off to Hawai'i, and delivered a speech in Honolulu. He told a gathering at the East-West Centre the "tendency to hype up a debate about how international trade works into a black-and-white, polarising issue has been unfortunate and misguided" and criticised "military language" like "trade war" and the "need to fight." Peters said such language "has at times come across as hysterical and short-sighted." WhatsApp messages show Peters' senior foreign affairs adviser Michael Appleton informed staff in the Prime Minister and Trade Minister's offices about the quote Peters had given reporters at Parliament about the Prime Minister's idea to get the CPTPP and EU together to talk trade being "premature", as well as the responses he gave reporters in Tonga about the tariff approach. On 12 April, he also gave the group a heads up that Peters would be giving a speech in Honolulu, and that they would get an advance copy once it was finalised. In a separate WhatsApp group with Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials, Appleton informed them Peters had "decided" to "deliver brief (5-10 minute) remarks" about the US/NZ relationship in Hawai'i. Appleton said he would work on a draft on the six-hour flight to Honolulu, using the "existing briefing/comms pack" and Peters' instructions as a guide. "But warning you I'll want some reactions to a draft text later today once we have arrived in Honolulu," he said. The responses to Appleton's message were redacted. Via email, Appleton informed senior diplomats and officials of Peters' intention to deliver the speech on US/NZ relations, and sent them a draft. "It has been written to his instructions, and he has signed it off (subject to same [sic] final tweaking tonight). So the scope for further edits is limited." The recipients included the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade Bede Corry, the US Ambassador Rosemary Banks, MFAT's deputy secretary for trade and economic Vangelis Vitalis, its deputy secretary for the Asias and America Grahame Morton, Americas divisional manager James Waite, and Pacific divisional manager Sarah Lee. Appleton told the group Peters' office would alert the Prime Minister, the Trade Minister, and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet "to the fact of this speech, and then provide an advance copy one MFA has finished his tweaking. "So no need for you to do any coordination on that front." The advance copy was sent to the offices via WhatsApp an hour before Peters delivered the speech. Following the speech, Luxon said coverage had been a "media beat-up" and insisted that he and Peters were actually on the same page. "We both agree that tariffs and trade wars are bad. We both think cool, calm and collected approaches are what is needed from ourselves and from our partners. We'll continue to build out our US relationship, and we're strengthening our bilateral ones," he told Morning Report . "So from our side, whether it's Winston and I, whether it's the five ministers dealing with it, and frankly, our whole cabinet, we're very aligned on our approach." Asked on Friday about the released of the communications and the notice his office was given, Luxon told reporters he had said all he wanted to say on the matter. "I've spoken about that ages ago, I've got nothing further to say about it. As you know, we're just making sure we're upholding the rules-based trading system." Peters' office did not wish to comment further. "We have nothing to add on this issue, which was well traversed at the time." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
The Spinoff
a day ago
- The Spinoff
The many complex truths within the ‘censoring' of youth parliament
The biggest story to come out of youth parliament was the supposed censorship of its MPs-in-training. They had no trouble blowing the lid off on that, but is it really so black-and-white? The tri-annual return of youth parliament this week was not without its controversies. 123 youth MPs and 20 youth press gallery members descended on parliament for three days of training and debates, and while many of these teens gave great speeches in the House, the attention has been on what they supposedly haven't been allowed to say. Youth parliament – despite what its name may suggest – is a non-partisan learning experience for young people who want to be politically engaged. And if you talked to these teens, you'd realise many of them already are – they're in advocacy groups, are dedicated posters to certain Reddit forums, already have fully-fledged political leanings they don't want to budge on and also have an MP whispering politicking tricks in their ears. It was a truly divided parliament this week: with one side desperately telling the media they've been censored, and the other desperately telling the media they haven't. As always, when it comes to politics, the truth is more nuanced than just one position. Truth #1: Claims of censorship haven't been totally genuine. It's more accurate to say that the ministry of youth development made suggestions to speeches, which the youth MPs were allowed to accept or deny, and these rules were also in place for the 2022 youth parliament. Yeah, it sounds silly, but this is a non-partisan event and the youth MPs know this, and at the end of the day, everyone still spoke their piece. Truth #2: Youth MPs are not protected by parliamentary privileges – if they defame a minister, they can be taken to court. Truth #3: Those crying wolf about censorship were mostly aligned with Make It 16, Gen-Z Aotearoa and SchoolStrike4Climate. Make It 16 and SchoolStrike4Climate have both described themselves as 'non-partisan', though their values tend to align with left-leaning politics, specifically those you might find within the Green Party kaupapa. Truth #4: Those teens pulled a pretty bloody good PR stunt, especially from a political campaigning group which hasn't yet been able to have much sway on voting age policy, and another which has been largely operating under the radar for the last few years while the government abandons its climate targets. Truth #5: NZ First and Act youth MPs did have a chance to take back the narrative, but they bungled their press conference by letting their progressive peers hijack it. Truth #6: There are plenty of 16-year-olds who would feel intimidated by an authoritative figure – especially a government official – making suggestions about their work. The ministry should have been clearer about its expectations. Truth #7: In a way, some of the progressive party-aligned kids are almost guilty of censorship themselves, having attempted a walkout during a speech from Winston Peters' youth MP, and trying to shut up Karen Chhour's youth MP by raising multiple points of order during his speech. This is where the censorship argument gets tricky, you see – wouldn't the likes of the Free Speech Union and David Seymour argue that that is a form of suppressing speech? Truth #8: There are far more racist and controversial things said on a near-weekly basis in this House than anything these youth MPs have said. Truth #9: Unfortunately in life, you have to listen to opinions you don't want to listen to. Unfortunately as a politician, you do this basically every day, and can't always run away from it. Truth #10: The 'real' politicians also have ministry officials and press secretaries begging them not to say something that will get them, their party or their agency in trouble. Truth #11: There were concerns about censorship among some of the youth press gallery members, too, though the ministry has described the checking-over of these stories as 'moderating' rather than editing. Truth #12: This does lead into an editorial grey area, because while the youth press gallery is supposed to operate under the same expectations as the youth MPs, having a ministry shape the story up to their standard, and then encouraging budding reporters to pitch these stories to independent outlets, is kind-of just like sending out a government press release. Truth #13: But this also teaches you some valuable lessons in journalism: how to recognise spin, how to deal with an editor you don't agree with and what to expect when an entity doesn't want you to reveal the worst of them. Truth #14: And, at the end of the day, you go into journalism to be a reporter, not an activist. One youth gallery reporter held the tino rangatiratanga flag over the bannister, others gave their peers standing ovations – the reality of being in the press gallery is that you are the observer, not the demonstrator. And everyone in that House deserves an equal level of scrutiny. Truth #15: All the drama that has gone down this week only proves that youth parliament has done its job: teaching these kids how to be effective politicians – and in the modern era, this often looks a lot like controlling the media narrative. Truth #16: It also suggests the future of our political landscape looks like more publicity stunts, and less cross-party communication, which is a shame.
NZ Herald
a day ago
- NZ Herald
House passes tax and immigration bill, sending it to Trump's desk
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