Joanna Gash (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The House would realise that we have a number of work experience people come through the offices in Gilmore. These are the words of one such young lady:

My name is Naomi Cockerill and I am 19 years old. I live ... in Bathurst.

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I am currently completing the final stages of a Diploma in Communication and Media at TAFE NSW—Western Institute Bathurst Campus. I am hoping to attend Charles Sturt University and complete a Bachelor of Arts (Communication—Journalism) and then hopefully begin work as a political journalist.

I have recently become interested in foreign correspondence when a teacher suggested I would be good at this. Further research on this branch of journalism has caused me to possibly consider it as a career option. However my main interests still lie within Australian politics and working in a politician’s office would be one of the ultimate successes for me as a journalist.

My parents, along with two of my sisters, drove me to Nowra. The trip was about eight hours long and very tiring. However once I started working at Joanna’s it was well worth the journey. I am so grateful that I was given this opportunity; I didn’t even care that I travelled for nine and a half hours on three trains and a bus to get back to Bathurst.

I became interested in politics at age 15, when I was assigned the task of playing Gough Whitlam in a debate. I have always wanted to work in a politician’s office to gain an insight into the daily workings of a politician’s life. I was ecstatic to learn that I was going to have the opportunity to travel to Nowra to work at Joanna Gash’s office.

Working in Joanna’s office taught me a lot. Firstly, I have learnt that when you work in a politician’s office there is a lot of folding, collating and envelope stuffing that has to be done. Although this is not the most exciting job, it has to be done and while folding pamphlets I had the opportunity to listen and observe the inner workings of the office, which is something I would not have missed.

This leads me to my next point; the staff of a politician has a lot of work to do. Joanna’s staff is always working hard organising events, writing press releases, helping the people of Gilmore and quite often people that are not even in their electorate. There is never a moment to rest when you work for Joanna; she loves to get involved in everything she possibly can (to her credit). However, the staff is always willing to help anyone that calls or comes into the office in any way they can. I hope that if some day I have the opportunity to work in a politician’s office, the staff will be as hard working and dedicated as Joanna’s.

I have attended a number of meetings and functions with Joanna and had the opportunity to meet a lot of people that are involved in politics and the media; this has been invaluable to me as I have been able to talk to people in the industry I am hoping to work in. Talking to these people has allowed me to learn about the ins and outs of being a journalist and I have been able to see first hand how they work.

To work in this occupation, I have discovered quite quickly that you need to be dedicated to your job. Getting up early and working until late at night is not unusual. Many unexpected twists can occur when planning an event and the ability to be able to accept this and work out a solution is vital to making this office run smoothly.

Cooperation is a fundamental necessity when it comes to working in this office. The staff help each other whenever they can to make each other’s work-load a little lighter. These people are dedicated to giving Joanna as much coverage as she can get and should be commended on the excellent work that they do, it is not an easy job.

As well as folding pamphlets and stuffing envelopes, I was given the opportunity to do a lot of things in the media section of her office. I did a lot of research on issues such as the current nuclear energy debate and the rising interest rates. I went to an oyster farm at Shoalhaven with Joanna to do a photo shoot with the owners of the farm. The opportunity to get practical experience is something that has been invaluable to me as it has confirmed that journalism and politics are my passion and the career I definitely wish for myself.

(Time expired)

Ian Causley (Page, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! In accordance with standing order 193 the time for members’ statements has concluded.