Shire Councillors welcome high school students back into Council Chambers

The annual ‘Councillor for a day’ has been running since 2017. This year, 26 students from Years 7-10 participated in the event. The Shire event gives local youth a chance to experience what it’s like to be a Councillor and gain more understanding of how local government works.

The majority of those who attended are part of student council at Margaret River High School and have recently been learning about local government.

Throughout the day students:

• Watched the process of how community plans are developed and endorsed through Council
• Participated in a community engagement workshop to assist in the development of the Shire’s Access and Inclusion Plan
• Got to know some of the Shire Councillors and Shire Officers
• Learnt about Council meeting processes including agendas, minutes, deputations, public questions etc
• Had a tour of the Shire Office
• Watched a Council briefing on the Margaret River Surf Pro
• Drafted public questions and participated in the Ordinary Council Meeting by asking these questions to Councillors
• Watched the first part of a Council meeting which included community deputations

Feedback from students and Councillors was extremely positive. Students were highly engaged, asked some great questions and gained a good understanding of how Council works.

Hopefully this will inspire some of our youth to become future Shire councillors and we look forward to seeing some of these students back in the Shire Office in the future.

Check out our website to find out more about the Shire’s Youth Advisory Council (YAC) for 12-14 year olds and other community support and development projects.