Parliament! Why do we need it?

Across the world and throughout time, societies have had to decide how they make decisions that work for the majority of their population. In Australia, we’ve chosen a democratic system of government. This means we elect representatives to parliament who report our views and make decisions on our behalf. So, instead of each individual voting on every decision, we vote in elections and delegate that responsibility to Members of Parliament.

But, living in a democracy means so much more than just voting at elections. Citizens need to participate at many levels to make democracy work.

If you’re a NSW high school student, be a part of Parli-Flicks, Democracy Day Short Film Award! Have your say and tell us:

Why do we need Parliament?

Express your views by creating a short film, up to one minute long. Participate by yourself, or in a group of up to five students.

Entries should reflect your understanding of Australian democracy and could also reference history, cultural traditions and pride in being an Australian.

Your film may want to explore some of the following questions:

• How does our system of government work?
• What makes our democracy effective?
• How do citizens and the Parliament make our democracy work?
• What is the role of the Parliament?
• What makes democracy different to all other forms of government?

Be imaginative! Your film can be comical, fictional or documentary style. It can be live action or animation. The main thing to remember is to answer the question: ‘Why do we need Parliament?’.

Judges will be looking for engaging films that best answer this question.

Ten entries will be shortlisted and awards will be given in the following categories:

• Best Regional
• Best Metropolitan
• Best Junior Secondary (Years 7 – 9)
• Best Senior Secondary (Years 10 – 12)
• Presiding Officers’ Choice
• Overall Winner.

The winners will be invited to an awards night at the NSW Parliament. Regional students will be provided with travel & accommodation assistance for this purpose.

The overall winner will receive $250 prize. The name of the winning student/s and their schools will be engraved on a trophy. All team members of the winning entries will receive a certificate of participation and a medal.

If you have any questions please email Parliamentary Communication, Education & Engagement at [email protected]

To show you how easy it is to enter Parli-Flicks, here is last year’s winner, Rhys Hibbert, with Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Jonathan O’Dea and President of the Legislative Council Matthew Mason-Cox:

Instructions

ENTRY FORM

YOUTUBE INSTRUCTIONS

SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY

Conditions & Guidelines

1. The NSW Parliament Democracy Day Short Film Award is free to enter.
2. The film must not exceed one minute in length.
3. The entrant/s must be Year 7 – 12 students enrolled in a school in New South Wales
4. Immediate family members of NSW Parliament employees, or the immediate family of Members of the NSW Parliament are not eligible to enter.
5. Entry into the competition means that the entrant warrants that they meet the entry eligibility requirements and accept these terms and conditions.
6. Entrants are responsible for any and all expenses that they incur in the making of the short film that they enter in the competition. The entrant will not be reimbursed for any and all expenses that they incur in the making of the short film, regardless of whether or not they win the competition.
7. Entries must not depict violence, smoking, alcohol or drug abuse. The short film must not be offensive or have objectionable content. Inclusion of coarse language is strongly discouraged.
8. All film entries must contain credits which list all the authors/creators of the entry and any actors and materials that appear in the film.
9. All copyright, moral rights and rights of personality for all content, music and actors must be obtained by the film maker. Failure to clear these rights will result in removal of the entry from consideration in the competition.
10. NSW Parliament takes no responsibility for any failure by an entrant to obtain the necessary authorisations. Entrants warrant that their short film (and any material comprising their short film) does not infringe the intellectual property rights or any other rights of any person.
11. Entrants give the NSW Parliament and ASPG the right to use entrant content in any form they choose for the Parli-Flicks – NSW Parliament Democracy Day Short Film Award or other promotional opportunities which may arise.
12. Entries must be submitted to [email protected] as a YouTube link by 12 midnight on Friday 1 July 2022 with a fully completed entry form.
13. Entries without a fully completed entry form will not be accepted.
14. Entrants accept that the decision of the judges’ panel is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
15. Winners will be notified by email by Friday 22 August, 2022.
16. Winners agree to be photographed for promotional purposes at the award night.