Don College student Julian Bowling, and Legal Studies teacher, Bronwyn Sidebottom recently attended the National Schools Constitutional Convention in Hobart.

In March, Julian won a state-wide essay writing competition in which he argued that Australia needs a Bill of Rights. He was one of four Tasmanian students to win a place as a delegate to the National Convention.

Unfortunately, due to COVID, the convention has not been held in Canberra for the past three years. Therefore, 120 students from around Australia were grouped into hubs at a nationwide Zoom meeting. The Convention included mini-lectures from experts on Human Rights, such as the Human Rights Commissioner, Lorraine Finley, Father Frank Brennan, and Dr Andrew Banfield, Director of Politics and Public Administration at the Parliamentary Library.

Students were asked to work in groups to discuss aspects of having a Bill of Rights and to develop a question for a plebiscite on whether Australia should have one. In the mock plebiscite, the majority of delegates overall, and the majority of hubs voted Yes. A communique from the Convention will be presented to the new President of the Senate, where it will be tabled. The two-day convention also included a tour of Parliament House in Hobart.

Congratulations to Julian on his achievement and his participation in this event.