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Don’t let your youth be a barrier to success was the key message from the 24-year-old Green Party MP Chloe Swarbrick when she visited Mahurangi College this month.
Her first visit to the school was organised by student Lily Marcroft and around 50 students and teachers turned up to listen to Ms Swarbrick speak.
Ms Swarbrick is currently serving her first term in Parliament – the youngest person to do so for 42 years.
Prior to that she came third in the 2016 election campaign for Auckland Mayor.
“Age doesn’t reflect who you are and what you can bring to society,” Ms Swarbrick told students.
“You’re often told you need to engage in politics more and when you do people question your lack of experience, but at the end of the day no one has all the answers anyway.
“People would question my experience and I have two degrees and a background in business and broadcasting.”
Ms Swarbrick fielded audience questions, the first of which was about the challenges she faced getting into Parliament.
“I definitely felt under pressure that if I were to stumble I would let young people down,” she said.
She was also asked what she thought of Simon Bridges’ comments on Jami-Lee Ross’s mental health.
“I obviously oppose the comments, but what we need is a whole culture shift on the way mental health is viewed. This is not an isolated incident.”
When asked about social media, which she utilised effectively during her Mayoral campaign, she said that it was a tool with both pros and cons.
“I like to use Twitter even though it’s a small community. Facebook has gotten harder to use since the algorithms changed, and I don’t have Snapchat because as a politician I need a record of things posted.”
She said students at Mahurangi College were engaged and intelligent, and had a great interest in the environment.
New Zealand First MP Jenny Marcroft was present to support the discussion and help organise the visit.
