By Damon Alexander
On Monday November 25th students from five universities, including Swinburne, graduated from the Victorian Parliamentary Internship Program. Presiding officers, Legislative Assembly Speaker Colin Brooks and Legislative Council President Shaun Leane presented the interns with their graduation certificates during a ceremony held in Queens Hall, Parliament House.
The program, which celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2020 has hosted over 1,200 interns since its inception and provides students with a unique opportunity to contribute to the development of public policy and to observe the political process from up close. During the internship, students are placed with an MP and spend their time compiling a research report exploring a topic developed in consultation with their host and an academic supervisor. The internship runs across the full semester and is equivalent to a 25-credit point unit.
This semester, six students from Swinburne (Ged Shearer, Gabby Henthorn, Georgia Lloyd, Freya Fajgman, Rhyce Morton and Jesse Forde) participated in the program along with six students from La Trobe and six from Australian Catholic University.
The Presiding Officers’ Prize for most outstanding intern report by a Swinburne student in 2019 was awarded to Jesse Forde for his report: ‘A review of public transport access and patronage in Mount Waverley: growing into the future’, for Matt Fregon, MLA for Mount Waverley.
Special commendation was also made for Freya Fajgman’s report: ‘Investing in Melbourne’s western growth regions: the importance of the prioritisation of level crossing removal in Melton’, completed for Steve McGhie, MLA for Melton.
Congratulations to Jesse, Freya and all our interns for 2019 for their exceptional work! If you would like further information about the program, please contact Dr Damon Alexander at dtalexander@swin.edu.au
Politics & History 