Social Actions and Parliament

This resource is for use with Social Studies achievement standard 91599 (3.4), and also covers how the Education Team at Parliament can help support learners working on this achievement standard.

It aligns with the New Zealand Curriculum: Social Sciences

Level 7Understand how communities and nations meet their responsibilities and exercise their rights in local, national and global contexts

Level 8Understand how policy changes are influenced by and impact on the rights, roles and responsibilities of individuals and communities

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This resource is for teachers and students to use and contains:

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NBIf an activity is starred then this could be used as evidence of your planning and/or understanding for the 3.4 assessment criteria. Check with your teacher for details eg in a journal log, in a report.

From NZQA Clarifications:

Although group work is permitted, specific evidence must be provided of individual contribution to both planning and the social action

Social Actions and Parliament

Page

1. A brief overview of the key parts of Achievement Standard 91599 (3.4), especially social actions which can be used to influence policy change.

a. Understanding vocabulary chart

b. Linking to the overall context of the standard: continuum chart

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2. Linking to the previous information: Some examples of critical social actions and active citizenship and where they can link to Parliament

a. Ladder of citizen participation and ideas about social actions

b. Linking to the Achievement Standard

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3. Support from the Education Team at Parliament for students social actions 9

4. Appendices

a. PDF – Ladder of citizen participation

b. PDF – Guide to Petitions

c. Making a submission diagram

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1. A brief overview of the key parts of the achievement standard, especially social actions which can be used to influence a policy

Achievement criteria

Achieved:

Examine personal involvement in a social action(s) that aims to influence policy change(s) involves using social studies concepts and giving specific evidence to:

• describe an issue and the policy the action aims to influence

• develop a plan for a social action(s) that considers ethical implications

• justify the selected social action(s) taking into account the points of view, values and perspectives of self and others

• give an account of personal participation in planning and carrying out the social action(s).

Merit:

Examine, in depth, personal involvement in a social action(s) that aims to influence policy change(s) involves explaining the strengths and weaknesses of their personal involvement and anticipating the real and potential consequences of the social action(s).

Excellence

Examine, comprehensively, personal involvement in a social action(s) that aims to influence policy change(s) involves critically evaluating the effectiveness of the social action(s) by comparing it with possible alternative actions to influence the policy change.

Achievement standard 91599 Examine personal involvement in a social action(s) that aims to influence policy change(s)

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Suggested activities

a) Making sense of the words in the standard:

• Select what you think are the important words or statements in this standard and write them in the left hand column of the following chart

• Then explore what the definition could be – you could do a quick dictionary search and rephrase it in your own words, and add this to the middle column of the chart

• Provide an example of what the word or phrase could mean. Include an image or a weblink if you’d find that helpful. This information can go in the right hand column of the chart.

Note – some examples are given here, and your teacher may also give specific words they wish you to look at more closely

An important word or phrase from the achievement criteria

A definition (possibly researched, and in own words)

An example of what the word or phrase means (include an image or a weblink if you’d find that helpful)

Personal involvement“I’ll need to take part and get involved in a social action”

I may need to help organise a meeting or research how to make a petition

Issue

Policy

(add your own in this box and below)

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Some helpful places to look:Social action: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/social-action

Points of view, values and perspectives: https://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/subjects/social-studies/clarifications/level-3/as91599/

Policy: https://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/subjects/social-studies/clarifications/level-3/as91599/

Social Studies Concepts: http://seniorsecondary.tki.org.nz/Social-sciences/Senior-social-studies/Key-concepts

b) Linking to the overall context of the achievement standard

Achievement standard rephrased: [For sake of clarity have used ‘we’ but this could also be ‘I’]

Rate the effectiveness of the rephrased statements in the table below:

1 = Doesn’t link at all to the achievement standard wording

5 = Matches very well to what needs to be done for the achievement standard.

Give a number and a reason why you have selected this number.

Achievement Standard Rephrased Statement Rating

Achieved:Examine personal involvement in a social action(s) that aims to influence policy change(s) involves using social studies concepts and giving specific evidence to:• describe an issue and the policy the action

aims to influence• develop a plan for a social action(s) that

considers ethical implications• justify the selected social action(s) taking

into account the points of view, values and perspectives of self and others

• give an account of personal participation in planning and carrying out the social action(s).

“We are going to find out about a current social issue and a policy linked to this issue. We are going to plan a social action or actions that sets out to influence the policy so it is changed.

“When we plan our social actions we’ll make sure that we think about the ethics surrounding the action, that we take into account different points of view on the actions, and that we keep a record of what we do”.

MeritAbove +… involves explaining the strengths and weaknesses of their personal involvement and anticipating the real and potential consequences of the social action(s).

When we plan our social actions we’ll make sure that we think about the ethics surrounding the action, that we have taken into account different points of view on the actions, and that we keep a record of what we do.

After we have completed our social actions we‘ll reflect on what we did well and not so well, as well as think about any consequences of out actions.”

ExcellenceAbove +… critically evaluating the effectiveness of the social action(s) by comparing it with possible alternative actions to influence the policy change

“We’ll include in our reflection a critical evaluation of the effectiveness of our actions as well as thinking about alternative actions”.

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2. Linking to the previous information: Some examples of critical social actions and active citizenship and where they can link to Parliament

Social actions are those taken by individuals and/or groups as part of being an active member of a democratic society. A number of social actions are part of a citizen’s rights and responsibilities eg being able to protest (right to free speech), and enrolling with the Electoral Commission (responsibility to enrol to vote).

In some cases people who are not citizens may still be entitled to some fundamental rights and responsibilities in a society, for example, in New Zealand permanent residents can vote and serve on juries amongst other rights.

The following resource talks about citizen participation in western democracies in general, not specifically just New Zealand. Therefore there may be some actions described here that non-citizens in New Zealand can participate in.

Examples of critical social action a. Resource to be used: In Appendix ‘Ladder of citizen participation’This resource sets out five levels of citizen participation (as adapted by research from Arnstein [1969]) and assigns actions to each level. These range from actions where citizens are informed about issues to actions where citizens are empowered.

i. Read through the examples: ‘What it looks like’ eg Pamphlets, public meetings, petitions.

a. What are three actions you have taken already?

b. What are three actions you have not taken?

As a group or class collate your ideas about these actions, and why people may or may not have participated in them. Choose at least three actions that the group/class have and haven’t participated in. This helps you get a general idea about current levels of citizen participation but, more importantly, helps to identify some of the barriers to undertaking particular social actions.

See over page for collation set out example

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Complete this for three different actions

Actions we’ve participated in already: _____________________________________________________________________________

Why we were able to participate in it and/or felt that we could participate in it etc

Complete this for three different actions

Actions we’ve not participated in already: _________________________________________________________________________

Why we were able to not participate in it and/or felt that we could participate in it etc

One way you could set out this collation is:

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b) Linking to the Achievement Standard 91599 (3.4)

In the first section of this resource we rephrased the achievement standard ‘into our own words’. The section we will now look at is:

“We are going to plan a social action or actions that sets out to influence the policy so it is changed.”

So what are some kinds of social actions? Hopefully the last section has given you a few ideas to help with this question.

i. Complete some of the sentences left blank to help you explain the purpose of a social action

ii. Fill in any blank squares with any other ideas about what could be a social action

Use fundraising as a means to

Visit clubs, community groups, classes at the school (junior?) to

Gather data on increased awareness eg

Let people know about an issue through use of social media (Instagram, Facebook page)

Meet an elected representative eg

Organise a protest and media around the issue

Make a submission to a local council, regional council, Parliamentary select committee

Present at a school assembly that uses a presentation to talk about

Create a petition that builds on research and raised awareness data to

Write an article and submitting to a local newspaper

Create a campaign that raises awareness and seeks to bring about change

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iii. Organise the information above into different categories to help you see what could be different ways for you to approach your decision about what social actions you’ll take.

Some ideas about categories could be

• Researching an issue

• Raising money

• Contacting people/groups about bringing about change on a policy

• Using Parliamentary processes to seek to change a policy

iv. To further help with any justification you may make about what social actions you’ll take complete the following PMI chart. Choose three – four actions from above and complete the table below.

This chart could be evidence of your thoughts about what social actions you’ll select and why (check with your teacher as to whether you include this evidence when your assessment is submitted).

SOCIAL ACTIONPLUS

What seems to be positive about this social action?

MINUSWhat seems to be a

negative about this social action?

INFLUENCEHow could this social

action influence a change in policy?

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3. Support from the Education Team at Parliament for student’s social actions

In the previous section we looked at various social actions that can be taken on an issue, and which ones could be more effective than others in instigating change in a policy.

In this section you’ll gain a more in depth understanding of the social actions relating to the processes at our Parliament. We hope this helps you decide whether to choose these social actions for your assessment.

We will cover:

- Creating a petition that builds on research and raised awareness data (surveys, open letters)

- Making a submission to a local council, regional council, Parliamentary select committee

- Writing to/Meeting an elected representative eg a local or regional councillor or a national member of Parliament

All of these social actions can also be completed digitally and do not require physical access to Parliament.

Activity: ‘Home base’For this activity you can work in pairs, threes or a group to look at a variety of resources. For each social action there will be a variety of ways for you to access the information about the social action as it relates to Parliament.

For example: on the section about petitions there is

- Written information

- A video

- A diagram

1. For each social action divide up who will look at what resource eg one person look at the video for that action, one person read the written info etc.

2. You’ll then go away and gather information from the resource you have been allocated. When looking at your chosen resource on a social action try and answer the following questions:

a. What are important steps to know about when completing this social action?

b. Why is this social action important in our democracy?

c. Who can we contact to help with this social action?

d. What resources will we need to be able to complete this action?

The next step is to then bring that evidence back to your pair or group (either verbally or in written form). For example, when your group is looking at petitions, you may have been allocated to watch the video. You’ll watch the video and gather answers, as best you can, to the 4 questions above. You’ll then bring that information back to your group to be collated.

You can choose how you wish to collate this information eg a collaborative document with visual diagrams.

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Petitions

1. Written information on petitions

From: https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/petitions/

Petitions are addressed to the House of Representatives and ask that the House do something about a policy or law, or put right a local or private concern.

Petitions can be created by anyone and must be signed by at least one person.

Every petition is moderated before it is published to the website. This is to ensure that the petition is addressed correctly and follows the rules of the House. A petition will be published once the Office of the Clerk is satisfied that the petition complies with all rules.

From: https://www.parliament.nz/en/get-involved/have-your-say/guide-for-petitions/

(This is a very detailed guide to Petitions which you can delve into for more info for your questions if you wish)

Any person, of any age, can petition Parliament. You do not have to be a New Zealand citizen to petition Parliament. Petitioning Parliament should be your last course of action.

If your petition is about the same subject as a petition that has already been looked at and reported on by a select committee in the current Parliament, it usually will not be accepted. It might be accepted if significant new evidence is now available.

You can ask a member of Parliament (MP) to present the petition to Parliament at any time during the petition process. This may be your local MP, but it does not have to be. An MP can refuse to present a petition. Presenting a petition does not mean that the MP agrees with the request.

After your petition has been presented, it will be announced in the House at the beginning of the next sitting day. Your petition will be put on the Petitions page of the Parliament website.

The Clerk of the House will send your petition to a relevant select committee to consider your request in detail. A select committee is a group of MPs with a focus on a specific subject. They may contact you to ask you to make a submission on your petition.

Once the committee has examined and discussed your petition, it will report back to Parliament. This is the last stage of the petitioning process. The report may contain recommendations. If the recommendations are to the Government, the Government needs to respond to the recommendations within a certain period.

2. Video https://youtu.be/wDV3AZlBiLo: Spotlight on Parliament video on petitions

3. Diagram

See ‘Guide to petitions’ diagram in Appendix

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Submissions to select committees

1. Written information on select committees

From: https://www.parliament.nz/en/get-involved/features/about-select-committees/

and

https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/ , https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/submissions-and-advice/

and

https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/select-committee-faqs/

Select committees are made up of members of Parliament (MPs) from several political parties. There are between 5–12 MPs on each committee. Committee members work together to consider topics that Parliament’s House of Representatives needs more information on and recommendations about (e.g. proposed laws and Government spending, petitions, and international treaties). Committees can also initiate inquiries and briefings to investigate important issues and topics.

Many select committee meetings at Parliament are open to the public, and now you can watch some select committee meetings live on Facebook, from anywhere in the country.

Select committees often ask for your thoughts about the issues and topics they are considering. They do this by “calling for submissions”.

When you make a submission your thoughts are considered by the committee and may influence what Parliament decides to do (and could perhaps inform changes to proposed laws).

Submissions can be written by anyone, and help the committee understand what the public think about a particular issue. They are usually released as soon as the committee has had a chance to read them.

People make submissions to select committees for many different reasons. Mainly people want to share their thoughts and experiences on issues and topics they feel strongly about. The public can also be helpful in identifying issues, and alternative solutions, in proposed laws.

It’s important that the public share their thoughts with MPs on select committees, as it helps the MPs understand how an issue or topic could affect you or your community. This knowledge also assists the MPs to pass the best and most informed laws possible.

Organisations also share their specialist knowledge with committees and highlight the positive and negative effects of issues and topics. They often make suggestions for improvement to proposed laws.

Select Committee staff can give you helpful resources and tips to share with people so they can make informed submissions and have a clear understanding about the select committee process. More informed submitters often make more effective submissions, helping the MPs in their consideration of the issue or topic.

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2. Video

https://youtu.be/aHdOg61LwcI?list=PLqLfh-6CkbiJT2YfSSYeozphxeOZsNG5p – short video on select committees

Links to select committees Facebook pages:

Parliament has 12 subject select committees covering economic development, science and innovation, education and workforce, environment, finance and expenditure, foreign affairs, defence and trade, governance and administration, health, justice, Māori affairs, primary production, social services and community and transport and infrastructure.

This picture shows you where to watch Parliament and also has a side bar of Select Committees being live streamed

https://www.parliament.nz/en/

Making a submission: https://youtu.be/exKEvXy605Y

3. Diagram

See ‘Have Your Say: Tell select committees and Parliament what you think’ diagram in Appendix

Have your say: Tell select committees and Parliament what you thinkWhen you give your opinion on a topic to a select committee, we will tell Parliament what you think. Here’s how it works:

Parliament sometimes needs more information about a topic Parliament’s House of Representatives can ask a select committee for more information and recommendations about a topic. We have 13 committees looking at different subjects.

We can investigate a topic we believe Parliament needs to know about As a committee, we can gather information that is relevant and useful for Parliament to know. This information can come from an inquiry or briefing.

We need you to have your say To help inform Parliament about a topic, a committee sometimes seeks your opinion through public submissions. Your feedback (or evidence) helps Parliament to fully understand the topic and how it affects you.

Thanks for your submission! You’ll get a message from the committee to say your submission was received. We will also give you instructions on how to add more information to your submission if you want to.

We’ll consider what you’ve told usOnce all of the submissions have been received, the members of Parliament on the committee consider what you have said.

Talk to us In your submission you can ask to speak to the committee in person. We will contact you with more information if you are selected.

We share with Parliament what we’ve learnt Once the committee has reached a conclusion based on everyone’s submissions and official advice, we’ll share our findings and recommendations with Parliament. The topic then goes on to the next stage in Parliament.

Speaking to the committee When you speak to the committee, the members of Parliament may want to ask you questions. We are happy for you to bring along extra information to support your opinion.

We share our report with everyone The committee’s report, and everything related to it, is put on our website for everyone to see.

Find out when you can have your say To let you know what we are seeking submissions on, we advertise, tell the media, put information on our website, social media, and Parliament TV.

Make your submission Everyone’s submissions are welcome. Your submission tells Parliament what you like, dislike, or would change about a topic. Please send your written submission through our website or by post. If you have any questions you can send us an e-mail.

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Follow the topic You can follow the topic in the media, on our website, social media, and Parliament TV. You can also attend an open public meeting. The meeting schedule lets you know the times and location.

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Thank you Fa'afetai lava Tēnā koutou Dankie Mālō Meitaki धन्यवाद 谢谢

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Writing to/Meetings with members of Parliament

1. Written information

From: https://www.parliament.nz/en/get-involved/have-your-say/contact-an-mp/

Members of Parliament are your representatives in Parliament. You can contact them at their offices in the parliamentary complex or at their electorate or community offices.

Maintaining a close connection between MPs and voters is an important feature of New Zealand’s democracy. MPs use newsletters, websites, social media and regular clinics to maintain this connection. People can go to their MP for help, and MPs frequently represent them on particular issues. Often they assist people in their electorate (constituents) to deal with central and local government agencies.

To write to specific members of Parliament you should address your letter as set out below. Please note that this service is offered to ensure free access to members of Parliament by New Zealand individuals wishing to make contact by letter. It is not intended for public campaign mail-outs of postcards or flyers. An alternative non-free address can be found on the Contact Us page.

[insert MP name]Freepost ParliamentPrivate Bag 18 888Parliament BuildingsWellington 6160

Use the maps on the Elections New Zealand website to find out which electorate you live in.

• New Zealand electorate maps on the Elections New Zealand website

The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet ministerial list has more details about Ministers’ roles and responsibilities. Use this list to help you decide which Minister is best for you to contact.

• The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet ministerial list

Here are some examples of the correct form of address for members of Parliament. To see the form of address for any specific MP go to ‘members contact details’ at the bottom of this page. You can also use the members of Parliament biography pages to see who to address as Hon or Dr.

Form of address Salutation Conversation

SpeakerRt Hon Trevor Mallard, Speaker of the House of Representatives

Dear Mr Speaker Mr Speaker

Prime Minister Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern, Prime MinisterDear Prime Minister

Prime Minister

Ministers Hon [First name Last name], Minister of… Dear Minister Minister

Members of ParliamentHon [First name Last name] MP or Ms /Mr / Dr [First name Last name] MP

Dear Mr / Ms / Dr [Last name]

Mr / Ms / Dr [Last name]

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2. Weblinks to gather information from

From https://www.parliament.nz/en/get-involved/have-your-say/contact-an-mp/

Go to the list of current members of Parliament.

- Choose how you want the list to display (for example, display the list by political party, portfolio, electorate, or select committee membership). The display options will help you to decide which member of Parliament you should contact.

- Click on the member’s name to go to a page that includes their contact details and parliamentary biography.

The New Zealand Government (Beehive) website is another source of contact details for Ministers

Use the maps on the Elections New Zealand website below to find out which electorate you live in.

- New Zealand electorate maps on the Elections New Zealand website

The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet ministerial list has more details about Ministers’ roles and responsibilities. Use this list to help you decide which Minister is best for you to contact.

- The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet ministerial list

3. Written information on lobbying

Lobbying is another reason that people may contact a member of Parliament.

In a political context lobbying is where a group or individual seeks to influence members of Parliament, support the passage of legislation or gain the support of an influential person (eg public officials) throughout a three year term. Anyone can lobby a member or an official to represent their views.

Lobbying could be a social action you choose to take to influence a policy change.

Some examples of how lobbying could fit

- There is an issue that requires a law (policy) change to address it. Therefore you may choose to lobby MP’s to introduce a change, either via a government bill, private bill or a members bill.

A government bill is introduced by Ministers of the Crown to advance the governing parties policies. A private bill is promoted by an individual or an organisation and a member’s bill is put forward by individual MP’s.

https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/bills-and-laws/

- The policy you wish to change could be a draft law that is going through the legislative process in Parliament. You could lobby an MP or MP’s on what they should be considering and subsequent voting choices to either support the change or amend the change.

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4. Support from the Education Team at Parliament

Parliament’s Education Team are a link between students and teachers, and the opportunities to engage in social actions at Parliament.

The team is apolitical and will not promote policies or political agendas, but are available to advise both individuals or groups on the social actions of making a submission to a select committee or petitioning Parliament.

We offer an educational programme that supports this resource and covers the following:

These cover many of the main areas of social actions associated with Parliament that the Education team can assist with. Contacting a Minister, for example, does not fall within the role of the Education team at Parliament.

For any queries our contact details are below:

Education.team@parliament.govt.nzPhone [64] 04 817 9565

In our Education Centre- Discussion focussed on

• What is Parliament and its purpose/s

• What is a law and links to policy [Link to definition of policy in this resource: Activity 1 a)]

• How a law change can be a result of

o Party policy

o Lobbying

o Reaction to an event etc.

[link to types of actions in this resource: Activity 2 a)]

Visit Select Committee Room- Learn about Legislative Process and public social actions that link into this

• Lobbying and petitions

• Select Committee submissions

[Link to information in this resource: Activity 3 – data collected on different types of action]

Visit Debating Chamber- An opportunity to see the democratic and Parliamentary process at work.

• Democratic eg scrutiny of the Government’s actions: Question time if the visit coincides with this part of the day when the House is sitting.

• Legislative process: Chance to observe a stage of a law being made

• If House not sitting: a chance to visit the chamber and ask questions about the purpose and nature of this part of Parliament.

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Resources page

A link to the school leavers toolkit on the Ministry of Education’s website.https://school-leavers-toolkit.education.govt.nz/en/government-and-voting/talking-to-parliament/

Links to resources on petitions from Parliament’s websitehttps://www.parliament.nz/en/get-involved/have-your-say/guide-for-petitions/

https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/petitions/

https://www.parliament.nz/en/get-involved/have-your-say/guide-for-petitions/

Links to resources on select committees from Parliament’s websitehttps://www.parliament.nz/en/get-involved/features/about-select-committees/ and https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/ , https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/submissions-and-advice/ and https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/select-committee-faqs/

Parliament’s websitehttps://www.parliament.nz/en/

A video about how to have your say from the Parliamentary Engagement Teamhttps://youtu.be/kuOdNzts4jg

A link to a resource from Parliament’s website on how you can have your say.https://www.parliament.nz/en/get-involved/have-your-say/contact-an-mp/

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4. Appendices

Ladder of citizen participationadapted from Arnstein (1969)

empower

involve

collaborate

inform

• What it is: Citizens have a dominant role over the government, including a veto right (the power to stop an action)

• What it looks like: becoming an MP, Binding referenda (a referendum where people vote and the result has to be acted upon), citizen juries (groups of citizens hear evidence/witnesses and make a ‘judgement’), ballots (voting secretly on an issue)

• Drawbacks: Takes a lot of time and resources, this level of participation is rarely reached.

• What it is: Partnership between government and public to work together on solutions they both believe will work (feasible), providing feedback on each other’s ideas.

• What it looks like:People working together on boards, committees with citizen representation that provide advice on an issue, online participation in decision-making of committees, working on reports on submissions and petitions

• Drawbacks: More opinions can ‘slow down’ a decision-making process

• What it is: Citizen’s voices are heard and taken into account by government (local and national)

• What it looks like: Making a submission (presenting your views), Petitions, citizens representing views on boards and advisory committees, community workshops

• Drawbacks: Governments or councils etc can debate with/disagree with the views and decide not to implement the citizens views eg they could make judgements on feasibility of some ideas (whether they will work).

• What it is: Asking for feedback to value citizens opinions on an issue

• What it looks like: Surveys (online and offline), Public meetings and hearings, focus groups, social media conversations

• Drawbacks: ‘Will my opinion actually influence anything? Are we reaching everyone?’

• What it is: Keeping citizens informed about their rights and responsibilities, and informing about decisions made.

• What it looks like: Pamphlets, posters, education sessions, social media posts, traditional media (newspapers, radio, tv)

• Drawbacks: Information only flows on way

consult

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Guide to petitionsWhat is a petition?

Further information

How to start a petition

A petition is a document addressed to the House of Representatives (Parliament) asking it to take a specific action. The request might be about a public policy or law, or about a grievance. Other people can sign the petition to support the request.

The Office of the Clerk can help guide you through the petitioning process, including helping you with the wording of your petition.

Contact the Office of the Clerk at petitions@parliament.govt.nz or 04 817 6711.

For more information on preparing a petition, please visit http://bit.ly/petitionguide.

You can start a paper-based or electronic petition.

Published 1 May 2018

Paper-based Electronic

• Include a cover sheet with your name, address, and the request. • If you choose to collect signatures, every page with signatures must have the full text of the request on it. This shows that people know what they are signing.

Collecting signatures

People will need to write their full name and provide their signature on a piece of paper that has the full text of the petition request.

What information do I need to include?

• Your name (this will be published to the Parliament website)• Your contact details (these will not be published)• Your request to the House of Representatives• A brief title for your petition

Collecting signatures

People will need to enter their name and email address on your petition page.

• To start an electronic petition, visit the Petitions page on the Parliament website.• You must provide a valid email address and verify it so that you can be contacted about your petition.

An MP must present the petition

You can ask a member of Parliament (MP) to present the petition to Parliament at any time during the petition process. This may be your local MP, but it does not have to be.

For more information on contacting an MP, please visit http://bit.ly/ContactMP-NZ.

Guide to petitions

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Have your say:Tell select committees and Parliament what you thinkWhen you give your opinion on a topic to a select committee, we will tell Parliament what you think. Here’s how it works:

Parliament sometimes needs more information about a topic Parliament’s House of Representatives can ask a select committee for more information and recommendations about a topic. We have 13 committees looking at different subjects.

We can investigate a topic we believe Parliament needs to know about As a committee, we can gather information that is relevant and useful for Parliament to know. This information can come from an inquiry or briefing.

Find out when you can have your say To let you know what we are seeking submissions on, we advertise, tell the media, put information on our website, social media, and Parliament TV.

We need you to have your say To help inform Parliament about a topic, a committee sometimes seeks your opinion through public submissions. Your feedback (or evidence) helps Parliament to fully understand the topic and how it affects you.

Make your submission Everyone’s submissions are welcome. Your submission tells Parliament what you like, dislike, or would change about a topic. Please send your written submission through our website or by post. If you have any questions you can send us an e-mail.

Thanks for your submission! You’ll get a message from the committee to say your submission was received. We will also give you instructions on how to add more information to your submission if you want to.

We’ll consider what you’ve told usOnce all of the submissions have been received, the members of Parliament on the committee consider what you have said.

Follow the topic You can follow the topic in the media, on our website, social media, and Parliament TV. You can also attend an open public meeting. The meeting schedule lets you know the times and location.

Talk to us In your submission you can ask to speak to the committee in person. We will contact you with more information if you are selected.

Speaking to the committee When you speak to the committee, the members of Parliament may want to ask you questions. We are happy for you to bring along extra information to support your opinion. We share with Parliament what we’ve learnt

Once the committee has reached a conclusion based on everyone’s submissions and official advice, we’ll share our findings and recommendations with Parliament. The topic then goes on to the next stage in Parliament.

We share our report with everyone The committee’s report, and everything related to it, is put on our website for everyone to see.

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Thank you Fa’afetai lava Tēnā koutou Dankie Mālō Meitaki धन्यवाद 谢谢

20 Social Actions and Parliament