KICE students are in the 'House'

Posted October 24, 2018

In only their second ever visit to Canberra, Federal Member for Mayo Rebekha Sharkie welcomed Kangaroo Island Community Education (KICE) students to Parliament today.

The students represented all three campuses - Parndana, Penneshaw and Kingscote.

They toured Parliament House and took part in a Parliamentary Education Office session where they learned about some of the processes of the House of Representatives and how laws were made.

Federal Member for Mayo Rebekha Sharkie attended the session where she spoke about her role and answered questions from students.

“I love meeting students from Mayo when they visit Parliament House,” Rebekha said.

“I enjoy their enthusiasm and curiosity about our political system and being able to see Parliament in action really reinforces their civics education.

“What is special about this trip is that it is only the second annual Canberra civics camp organised by KICE and the first where the school has been able to access the Government’s new civics education subsidy for students living on Australian islands.”

Until the former Education Minister Senator Simon Birmingham included Kangaroo Island in the $120 island subsidy earlier this year, KICE students only received a $60 rebate for visiting Canberra, the same as a student living in Adelaide.

“The significant travelling costs faced by island students when visiting our nation’s capital is an issue I raised many times with the Government since taking office in 2016,” Rebekha said.

“I was buoyed to learn in early 2017 that the Government was reviewing the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate (PACER) and would take note of the issues faced by Kangaroo Island.

“I even managed to get the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Tony Smith, a big supporter of civics education, to attend a school camp fundraiser for KICE during his visit to the island last year.

“So I was delighted to learn in March this year that the PACER review had led to the inclusion of Kangaroo Island in the $120 subsidy.

“When you add this extra amount to the $60 allowance, that’s $180 per student.”