Standing from the outside, or even from the public gallery, the parliamentary procedures can seem utterly overwhelming.
We, as up-and-coming journalists of tomorrow, have been training in the field by observing and attempting stories from the Queensland state parliament happenings in Brisbane.
The intimidating the green, lower house is filled with billowy men and women with short hair cuts. The leather upholstery covers the original pieces of carved furniture that fill the chamber – it’s quite a sight when the lights are glowing.
Members sit using their “hear, hear’s” to express their agreement, or a variety of other words when they do not; the sounds of their dismay often echoing through building while kerfuffled onlookers try to make out what’s going on.
To be blatantly honest, it’s scary. Particularly if you are unfamiliar with what’s going on and where is a good place for you to be without being in the way or seeming to not know what to do. However, after a little bit of research and recognising those local MP’s from your community, there is a sense of excitement that draws closer as you begin to see past the over-worded jargon and to the real words explaining real issues impacting real lives.
It begins to get interesting.
And as it has only just begun to get interesting… this is the first of many observations to come as we continue embarking on this journey of decoding the political world into language we can all understand… eventually.