5TH CYP


Ms Claire Coulton, MYP, New South Wales Ms Coulton was a Member of the Youth Parliament representing New South Wales and was the Leader of the Opposition in the 5th Commonwealth Youth Parliament. Currently completing a Master’s degree in politics and international studies at the University of New England in New South Wales, she is also a research assistant to a Member of the Australian state’s Legislative Council and worked previously as a teacher.


As the oldest Commonwealth Youth Parliamentarian of 2012, I was unsure of what to expect when I travelled to London in December to meet my colleagues. From the outset, the mood was exuberant and contagious. The foyer of Lambeth’s Tune Hotel has surely never before seen such a raucous gathering, as delegates excitedly met their fellow party and opposition members. Many of us had endured a 30 degree drop in temperature during our travels from all corners of the Commonwealth, and we were all rugged up and excited for four days of seminars, debates on motions, caucusing and committee meetings. Apart from the more obvious


cultural differences, we were also quite a disparate group in terms of political view points. Interestingly, a number of countries’ delegates were split between the two major parties. As the leader of the conservative- leaning Opposition, the Determination of the Future Party, I was pleased to discover overwhelming bipartisan support for a number of motions that are quite contentious in my home


Ms Claire Coulton


understand the importance of the Commonwealth as an essential advisor in particular for developing nations.


Myth of youth disengagement One of the more controversial topics of the week was the disengagement of young people in the political process at all levels. As a former teacher and member of the youth wing of a political party, I think that


state of New South Wales, such as marriage equality and the reduction of the voting age to 16. While both parties and the Independents agreed on the need to address youth unemployment, the significance of agriculture to the Commonwealth and the importance of education, there was very enthusiastic debate about how schemes to tackle these issues should look and how they could realistically be funded. The week also included a number


of lighter moments, such as late- night caucus meetings in the coffee shops and pubs of South London, unexpected party defections (a big win for the Opposition!) and the most multicultural dance party I have ever attended. A particular highlight was the


invitation to Marlborough House for a question and answer session with the Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General, Ms Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba, where the hot topic was the relevance of the Commonwealth. In Australian schools and in the media, the Commonwealth is rarely mentioned outside of the Commonwealth Games. Biannually we see the images of the CHOGM summit on the television and only differentiate it from the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum due to the smaller number of colourful shirts worn by the leaders. Through CYP, however, I had the chance to really examine the Harare declaration, as well as the core principles of the declaration, and to begin to


youth disengagement in politics is a myth – political apathy and ignorance exists across all spectrums and age groups, and some of the most switched-on political minds I have ever met are under the age of 30. This belief was reinforced at the CYP, where each and every delegate was passionate about politics. If communities as a whole were


more connected to the political process, this would lead to increasing engagement amongst the younger generation. Disengagement is a serious problem, but one that political leaders need to address across their entire communities, and not solely in classrooms. In NSW, politics is part of the curriculum, and the majority of students have the chance to travel to Canberra, visit Parliament, the Electoral Commission and other relevant institutions, and perhaps participate in a mock election for their favourite chocolate bar or boy band. However, without context these experiences can be meaningless, and every CYP representative agreed that political education comes best from doing, rather than from chalk and talk. Personally, my most beneficial


political experiences have come from involvement in my school’s Student Representative Council, participation in student leadership forums, and membership of the NSW Young Nationals. These experiences are all immensely more valuable than a lesson in a classroom, and teachers and Parliaments alike should be facilitating experiences like this for young people.


This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t


be teaching politics in schools; but any activities need to be relevant, student- driven and to lead to real outcomes. Events such as the CYP are the perfect incubator for encouraging politically minded young people to become involved in politics. No guest speaker was more engaging than CYP’s own Emily Shaw, from the Shetlands, who explained the incredible participation rates in the Scottish Youth Parliament, which is run entirely by young people. The most valuable element


of the CYP was the opportunity to network with enthusiastic and passionate young people from across the Commonwealth, a number of whom I am sure will go on to achieve great things. We recognise the importance of being accountable for the opportunity we were given, and have formed a group on social media where we will continue regularly to interact. Collectively, we have made a commitment to blog about both our experiences at the CYP and any issues of significance for the group. I am particularly interested to learn more about the smaller states that attended, including the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, the Falklands and Swaziland. Through this blog, we hope to continue the learning experience that began in London. On behalf of all participants, I


would like to express our gratitude to our home CPA Branches for their nomination and support, to the many guest speakers, including the House of Commons Speaker, Lord Speaker and several prominent MPs, and most particularly to the Commonwealth Youth Parliament team, under the leadership of CPA Secretary-General Dr William F. Shija and United Kingdom Branch Secretary Mr Andrew Tuggey, for organizing the programme so well at the same time as letting us take the lead and set the agenda for debate. It was an honour and a thrill


to debate in Westminster. The experience that will stay for me for a lifetime, and I am certain that it has encouraged several emerging political careers.


The Parliamentarian | 2013: Issue One | 37


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