On Tuesday, Year 11 Politics and Law students had a very exciting excursion, starting at the courts and finishing in Parliament. We started at the Francis Burt Law Education Centre, with a trial roleplay in the oldest court in Western Australia. Students acted out a criminal trial before a jury but we could not agree upon a verdict. Next, we walked to the District Court where we viewed a four-week criminal trial for armed robbery and observed the cross-examination of a detective by two barristers. After that we attended a Magistrates Court trial for a simple assault and saw the victim giving her examination in chief. The final stop was a visit to the State Parliament. As we waited to start our tour, Premier Mark McGowan was rushing out but briefly stopped to say a few words to our students, terrific timing! We finished by viewing Question Time which was very heated and entertaining. The Premier was back in time to answer some questions about the fees to taxpayers for the Clive Palmer trial. He showed great debating skills and humour to turn the heat back onto the questioner. Other topics that arose included the new Forrestfield train line, manufacturing of trains and public housing availability.

We thank all venues for a terrific educational opportunity to learn about the law and government in practice. Thanks also to Miss Hoad who accompanied us. The class is also to be commended for conducting themselves well throughout the day. This was one of the best excursions I’ve been on and our class was very fortunate to have such a great experience.

Ms Natasha Clark
Humanities Teacher