An inside experience of Parliament
A unique programme that gives Victoria students firsthand experience of the inner workings of New Zealand's parliament is in its eighteenth year.
The University’s Parliamentary internship programme is offered over two trimesters to students taking Masters or Honours in Political Science, International Relations or Strategic Studies. Alongside academic requirements, the students spend one day a week working in a Member of Parliament’s office.
The programme’s coordinator, Professor Stephen Levine, from Victoria’s School of History, Philosophy, Political Science and International Relations, says the internship gives students full immersion in the realities of working in Parliament.
“The programme is very well regarded—in fact, our students are the only staff at Parliament that are officially described as ‘interns’—and has become a valued part of the parliamentary environment.
“We choose carefully—Parliament expects that the interns we put forward will be our brightest, most reliable, mature and trustworthy students.”
Professor Levine says it is a win-win scheme. “In return for assisting MPs do their jobs more effectively through helping with research on policy or proposed legislation, writing speeches or running the MP’s social media channels, the Victoria interns get unique access to the inner workings of parliament and an incredible knowledge of how politics works in this country,” he says.
“The students also gain a tremendous amount of confidence from having spent months interacting with MPs, the Speaker of the House, and Cabinet Ministers. They become so much more than ‘students’: many are formally thanked in parliamentary speeches, and some become so trusted and esteemed by their MP that once the internship programme comes to an end they are offered a formal position in Parliament or in Ministers’ offices. Many others go on to work for various government departments and ministries.
“Having worked as an intern at Parliament gives the students a competitive advantage in the ‘real world’—it’s assumed that they have a good understanding of parliamentary and legislative processes and that they are intellectually well-qualified.”
International Relations Masters student Karishma Patel, who is currently interning for Green MP Julie Anne Genter, says it has been an amazing opportunity.
“I look forward to coming to work at Parliament every week—I feel like I’m learning so much more about the legislative process than I possibly could in a traditional class. It’s very inspiring to see the way our government operates from an insider’s perspective, and to see just how hard MPs like Ms Genter work for their causes and constituents.”
Karishma says she has been working on Ms Genter’s medicinal cannabis member’s bill, which was recently pulled from the ballot and will be debated in the House of Representatives.
“I find the parliamentary process completely addictive and I now know that I’d like to pursue a career here. The internship has been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, which I wouldn’t have been able to have without studying at Victoria.”
Fellow student Callum Gill is working in the office of Waitaki MP Jacqui Dean, who is Minister for Commerce and Consumer Affairs, and Minister for Small Business.
“I feel so lucky to be doing an internship for a Government Minister, and in an election year,” he says.
In addition to a special interns’ dinner at the Beehive, put on by MPs at the conclusion of the programme, outstanding interns are eligible for prestigious prizes. Each year the top performing intern is awarded the Speaker’s Prize, and the New Zealand Business and Parliament Trust provides two prizes to students for the best essays about the role of Parliament in governance and policy process, and the role of Parliament in the wider community.
Professor Levine says the programme is a central part of Victoria University’s focus on advancing better government. “MPs quite naturally want to see a better, more informed, public understanding of Parliament and of the work they do, and they appreciate and respect that this internship programme represents a highly positive and innovative effort by the University to achieve that important objective.”