The window for submitting on the current constitutional review comes to an end this month, so we thought it might be timely to let you know that we are now preparing and co-ordinating submissions both from (A) the Institute and from (B) the EmpowerNZ participants (the 50 young New Zealanders who met at the EmpowerNZ workshop held in Parliament last August) respectively.
A: The Institute will provide a submission, picking up, what I would call, a strategic narrative – following by digging deep into a few issues that we think might be of interest, but are slightly outside of their initial focus. This will be published on our McGuinness Institute website
B: The EmpowerNZ participants will provide three types of submissions to the Constitutional Advisory Panel (CAP), all which will be available on their EmpowerNZ website. They can be found on a new CAP Submissions page:
1. EmpowerNZ July 2013 Participants Survey submission: We have 42 participants who have completed an online survey. The results have now being assimilated into one document. The answers will remain anonymous within the submission. We are publishing this today, as we hope to get more young people interested in the debate.
2. EmpowerNZ July 2013 Workshop submission: This was a great event, lots of hard work and healthy debate; 15 participants from the August 2012 workshop came together for three days earlier this month. Mihi Pirini and Marcelo Rodriguez Ferrere did a fantastic job, absolutely brilliant. We hope to have a final submission signed off by all parties in the next few days – but for now it is over to the participants to bring the dialogue to a close.
3. EmpowerNZ July 2013 Individual Submissions
We have invited any participant who makes a personal submission to CAP to also place it on the EmpowerNZ website. This way it creates a place for young people to look and see what others are thinking.
It is terrific to see this project develop into something far better and stronger than we had ever hoped. The CAP members continually ask me to pass on their thanks to everyone involved – they are so pleased to have a youth voice in the debate.
Once again we would like to thank the facilitators, speakers and special guests who made the 2012 EmpowerNZ workshop possible:
Facilitators: Dean Knight (Lead, Jess Birdsall-Day, Natalie Coates, Carwyn Jones, Mihiata Pirini, Marcelo Rodriguez Ferrere, Diane White and Edward Willis.
Speakers: Paul Goldsmith MP (parliamentary host), Emeritus Professor John Burrows, Charles Chauvel MP, Hon Peter Dunne MP, Te Ururoa Flavell MP, Hone Harawira MP, Professor Philip Joseph, Hon Jim McLay, Sir Tipene O’Regan, Metiria Turei MP, Hon Justice Joseph Williams, Dame Dr Claudia Orange and Te Papa Tongarewa for their ongoing support.