Youth MPs ready for political cut-and-thrust

Two east Auckland school pupils with big ambitions are among the Kiwis selected to take part in the 2025 Youth Parliament.

Pakuranga College head student Abby Plom, 17, has been chosen as Prime Minister and Botany MP Christopher Luxon’s Youth MP, while Abby’s schoolmate Cerys Gibby, who’s 17 also, will be one of 20 reporters in the Youth Press Gallery. Both girls are in year 13.

Youth Parliament is organised by the Ministry of Youth Development with support from the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Each Youth MP serves in the role from April 28 to August 29 and they’ll all take part in a two-day session at the Parliamentary precinct in Wellington from July 1-2.

The initiative is intended to give the country’s future leaders a first-hand look at what it’s like to be an MP as well as an insight into how Parliament and the Government operates.

Abby, who serves as chairperson of the Howick Youth Council, says she saw a post on Instagram about Luxon looking for a Youth MP and decided to apply.

“I emailed his office and they said to submit a two-minute video and letters of support, so I did that

“They emailed back and said to come in for an interview, so I was like, ‘oh, fabulous!’”

She met with Luxon and one of his staffers at his Botany electorate office and it went well.

“It was so good,” Abby says. “We sat on a couch and talked. It was so casual, but it was great. He’s very personable and down-to-earth.”

She’s excited about the opportunity to be a Youth MP.

“We have online trainings with the Ministry of Youth Development and we’ve had parliamentary working groups come and talk to us.

“In July we go to Parliament in Wellington. There we have committee sessions, potentially do a speech in the debating chamber, and chat to ministers about things going on in New Zealand.

“A lot of history has happened in that building and it will be a bit surreal, but I’m very excited and think it will be a very cool opportunity.”

The political issue Abby is most interested in is mental health, as it’s a subject she frequently hears about through her role with the Howick Youth Council.

“I’d like to see increased funding and support for schools to have on-site mental health specialists,” she says.

“A lot of schools, even in our area, don’t have enough on-site mental health specialists that can take that capacity for the students they have.”

Her plans for 2026 include attending Victoria University of Wellington to study law and politics.

“After that I’m not sure where I’d like to take that, whether it be working for the United Nations or something in foreign affairs, or whether I want to be a lawyer.

“But one day I’d like to end up in Parliament.”

Cerys was keen to join the Youth Press Gallery due to her love of reading and having grown up around the news.

“I read books a lot as a child, but my dad was always very passionate about my sister and I reading the news.

“We watched the news every night and he always had newspapers around for me to read.

“I find journalism fascinating and I’m potentially looking to it as a career.

“I’m also considering science, maybe science communication, but I’ve always been someone who tunes into the news, and being able to create some of that myself would be really interesting.”

Leading up to the two-day event in Wellington in July, Cerys will be assigned a group of Youth MPs who she’ll be tasked with writing about.

“Those stories will be published in the Youth Parliament e-newsletter, which is going to be released in June and August,” she says.

“I’ll be seeking to publish my works in local newspapers or potentially with RNZ The House or the New Zealand Herald, so I’ll really try to pitch my stories.

“I’m trying to come in from a very objective standpoint and report on what’s happening in the parliamentary working groups, connect with the Youth MPs, and try to get their stories out there.

“The Youth MPs are going to be in parliamentary working groups and doing their speeches and debating.

“I’ll be sitting in on that as a Youth Press Gallery member, asking the tough quesions, but really just getting the story out there.

“I hope to make some connections, meet people, and learn from others.”