Launceston students travel to constitutional convention in Canberra to address bigger issues

Erin Coull (Launceston College) and Rory McMahon (St Patrick's College) travelled to Canberra for the three day event on March 19.

Held at the old Parliament House, Ms Coull said the Australian Electoral Commission presented at the convention.

''The Australian Electoral Commission came in and presented - they explained how a referendum worked,'' she said.

''Then they wrote us a referendum question on the proposition.

''The question we voted for or against was concerning section 96 of the constitution.''

Ms Coull said the constitution is not ''some dusty old document that sits on the shelf - it's interactive''.

''The constitution was written at a time when most women had no input, people of colour had no input - it was prominently older people who were the constitutional framers,'' she said.

''It's really really important to bring the perspective of young diverse people into constitutional issues - to rectify the imbalances.''

Mr McMahon said there were several speakers who also presented.

''We had four keynote speakers from many universities across the country,'' he said.

''They included Kim Rubenstein, Alan Fenna, Andrew Banfield and Anne Twomey.''

Mr McMahon said he is interested in getting involved with politics after college.

''I definitely want to spend more time in Canberra and follow the road of politics'' Mr McMahon said.

Ms McMahon said she is ''really interested in policy making and law reform''.

''The constitution is a really good place to start, being the basis of all of that,'' she said.

Jada-Li Crossey from Don College as well as Zephyr West and Grace Gregson from Hobart College also attended the convention.