Coker, Speaker take Parliament tour to Grovedale

GEELONG pupils experienced a day in Parliament from the comfort of their own classroom as part of a federal government education initiative.

Corangamite federal member Libby Coker and Speaker of the House of Representatives Milton Dick visited Grovedale Primary School on Tuesday as part of a Parliament in Schools program tour.

Pupils learnt about federation, democracy, and the Australian Parliament and heard first-hand about the federal members’ roles in their electorates and on sitting days.

The sessions included dress-ups in traditional chamber costumes and with the Speaker’s mace, and grilled the MPs in a question time role-play.

Ms Coker said the program was part of an outreach program from the Parliamentary Education Office (PEO) that aimed to educate children about Australia’s system of government.

“Civics education is so important for our young local students.”

“We have a fantastic schools program run at Parliament House in Canberra by the PEO, but not all students will get the opportunity to travel all the way to Canberra. That’s why it’s such a great initiative for the Speaker to take this program on the road for our local students. To see our young future leaders show interest in how Parliament works – and play dress ups at the same time – was a great privilege and good fun too.

“I’d like to thank the Speaker for offering our local students this amazing opportunity.”

Mr Dick said it was important the PEO program was accessible to students that weren’t in easy reach of Canberra.

“One of my biggest priorities is to increase the accessibility of civics education.”

Grovedale Primary School principal Tina Barrett said the program complemented the school curriculum.

“Our students are currently engaging in comprehensive learning about how democracy works.”

“Having the Speaker of the House of Representatives and our local MP engage directly with students brought this important part of education to life and enriched the children’s understanding of the levels of government.”

“Our students enjoyed the activities enormously and asked some thoughtful questions about the processes which govern decision-making in our country.”

“Equipping our students with knowledge of how the different levels of Government work empowers them to become active contributors to our society.”