Perhaps it was the sense of the future that spurred Peter Dunne to wax lyrical over the trials and tribulations of his 29 years in parliament.

Thanks to Youth Parliament 2013, young representatives gathered for two days of debate, networking and a plethora of cakes, which allowed the leaders of tomorrow to get up close and personal with New Zealand’s members of parliament.

Newly Independent MP Peter Dunne said he was a pragmatist and a cynic.

“I’ve been here for 29 years so I’m allowed to be,” he said.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for the media,” he said.

But New Zealand was a small country and the media had a wolf-pack mentality at times, he said.

It felt like there were three trains coming at him from all sides over his resignation from United Future and the leaking of a letter to a Fairfax journalist, he said.

“It’s been pretty hard on my family and on the journalist concerned.”

“We’ve gotten through it now, I think,” he said.

He said creating policy could be misleading at times.

“I’ve seen too many occasions where too many ideas have taken control of the situation,” he said.

Just because potential policy looked and sounded good it did not mean it would work for the public.

“That’s a shallow assumption,” he said.

On a personal level, Mr Dunne said he had gotten a lot of flak from the public over his dress sense and hairstyle over the years.

Contrary to popular belief, his “quiff” was natural with the exception of being styled regularly by Rodney Wayne outlets, he said.

He also enjoyed wearing bowties and had done so for many years, he said.

“They are the genuine article. I tie them myself.”

Mr Dunne was very privileged to be in the company of 121 “bright young things” for Youth Parliament, he said.

“This is such a great opportunity and such a great occasion,” he said.

Representing Peter Dunne at Youth Parliament was Queen Margaret’s College Michelle Too.

The 17-year-old was the CEO of a Young Enterprise Scheme in 2012 and used her carbonated drinks business to raise awareness about the East African drought.

All proceeds went to World Vision.

Today marked the seventh NZ Youth Parliament where the 121 high school students represented their MPs for two days to discuss issues relating to New Zealand youth.

ENDS

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