Cape Byron Rudolf Steiner School HSC students recently visited NSW Parliament House in Sydney and met with their local Member for Ballina Tamara Smith.
Students visited the Legislative Assembly (lower house) Chamber to observe parliamentary debate unfold in real time and were able to discuss how laws are introduced, debated, and passed.
‘I thought it was incredible to see it in person here,’ Year 11 student Shlomi Safia said.
‘Often politics feels like something that’s really impersonal, but seeing it here happen with real people, people like Tamara Smith, was amazing. It made me feel like these things are actually happening by us, and for us.’
The visit formed part of Legal Studies and the Legislature, an education program run by NSW Parliament that supports the Stage 6 Legal Studies curriculum. The initiative is designed to give students a practical understanding of how the legislative process operates beyond the classroom.
The students also visited workshops and lectures at universities, museums, art galleries, science labs, religious and cultural sites, and the Supreme Court during their Sydney visit.
‘It is a really important bridge between conceptual study in the classroom and real world understanding of how their learning shapes society and the world,’ said Head of School, Alix Johnson.
‘Every year students return energised and inspired for their HSC studies.’
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
