Interns awarded prizes by the Speaker of Parliament
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon David Carter, presented three prizes to interns from Victoria’s Political Science and International Relations Programme earlier this month.
The Speaker’s Prize was presented to Salote Talagi, the programme’s first parliamentary intern from Niue. She produced a special video, involving MPs, prepared for New Zealand’s Niue Language Week.
The two other prizes were awarded to Samantha Lassen and Caleb Dawson-Swale in recognition of the quality of essays they had written on Parliament. These prizes were provided by the New Zealand Business & Parliament Trust, an organisation based in Parliament working to promote improved community understanding of parliamentary processes and the roles of MPs.
The parliamentary internship programme has run for 17 consecutive years, and operates from March-October. Honours and Masters students work part-time at Parliament, attached to an MP’s office.
Professor Stephen Levine, who organises the programme, says the interns gain insights into the legislative process, the role of an MP and the duties of parliamentary staff.
“They see Parliament, politics and policy-making from the inside.”
Interns provide assistance to MPs, assisting with a variety of tasks including speech-writing, policy analysis, research and correspondence with constituents.
At the conclusion of the programme, since 2012, two students have been selected for two-month internships at the US Congress