Speak your truth to power: a guide to making oral submissions

Karawhiua – you can do it! Telling personal stories can make a difference. 

Part of the usual process of law-making – turning Bills into Acts of Parliament – is the public getting to have their say on the proposed new law. Anybody can write a submission to whichever select committee of MPs is reviewing the bill, and if (and only if) you make a written submission, you can also indicate if you’d like to talk to the select committee, in person or via video link.  

Note that oral submissions are usually live-streamed online, can be viewed after the event, and your name is made public.
(If you wish to make a secret oral submission, let the secretariat know and they will let you know if that option is available to you and, if so, what that means, including who will know who you are, and whether any further people will know in future. Get all the info before making your decision.) 

Why make an oral submission? 

• You’re indicating both to current and potential future governments that this issue is important to you and your community. If you oppose a bill and know it is going to pass without change no matter what you say, you are still giving the select committee’s opposition MPs a signal that the law needs to be changed or repealed in future. If you agree with the bill, you can make MPs feel good about supporting it. 

• You can make the issues “real” for MPs by sharing your lived experience with them.  Your personal stories are invaluable, and often unexpected for MPs, even if they seem obvious to you.
  Usually, MPs hear from officials and experts who may understand the issues very well from a theoretical point of view, but the pros and cons and effects can all seem far removed from real life…. Until, that is, they are making eye contact with somebody whose life is going to be impacted by the proposed law. Remember, every story is unique – lots of people may be able to talk about research, but only you can say how something feels when it affects you.  

• You can clarify key points and ensure the MPs understand them. Feel free to use metaphors and examples on anything technical.  

• You can focus on any particular point on which the government may be persuaded to change. It is sometimes possible to make “bad bills” a bit better, by pointing out the unintended consequences of a clause or two, and recommending parliament change those at least.  

• You can get your message out to your community – and show them you care enough to work on their behalf – and beyond by sharing your oral submission with your community. You can invite people to watch the live stream, and also share images and text eg on social media, if you can do so safely. 

What should I say in my oral submission? 

It’s best not to read out your written submission – that would miss the opportunity to be memorable and constructive. You may have as few as 5 minutes to make an impression and to put your message across to the MPs.  

• Introduce yourself – eg a short pepeha and/or who you are, and why you’re interested in the bill 

• If you’re talking about personal experience, think about pūrākau: invite your listeners onto your journey by telling them a story with a beginning, middle and end. Ensure the story ends with a clear relevant message/moral of: this is why you need to change this part of the bill/ support this bill/ throw this bill out. If you feel comfortable doing so, it can be powerful and memorable to talk about your feelings –  you can touch hearts as well as minds to make your story stick with the MPs in the weeks and years ahead. 

• Invite questions – some MPs with opposing points of view may try to ‘score’ points, but you can say “I/we would strongly disagree with that view/that framing, based on my/our experience/ based on the research.” If somebody asks you a question you don’t know the answer to, you can say “I don’t remember that off the top of my head, but I/we will email you after this” and then you can email the secretariat (who has organised your oral submission) afterwards with the additional information. 

How do I prepare for my oral submission? 

• If you haven’t already (as part of making a written submission), find out which MPs are on the select committee, and see if there’s anything about them in the news or their parliamentary speeches in the first reading of the bill that enables you to know their positions, and what arguments may be appealing to them. 

• A day or three before the oral submissions, lists of submitters are published on the select committee’s pages. You can use these to decide whether to listen to anybody submitting before you submit, to inform what you say.  

• If you know any other submitters, and you know they’ll agree with what you want to say, you might even get in touch with them to coordinate what you both say to avoid double-ups but to ensure mutual support (eg “I heard what [person Z] told you in their submission last week and I agree with all their points – it’s what we’re hearing in our community also”) 

• Don’t try to cover all the bill’s clauses, just do an overview of basic principles, or hone in on one or two key points. 

• Practice practice practice! Time yourself. This is to ensure you do not go over time (as you’ll get cut off before your big finish), and also to help you make eye contact by using prompts, rather than reading your submission, if possible. Practice also helps you to slow your voice down – normal speaking rhythm is more powerful than speeding through your points. And we all tend to go faster when we’re a bit nervous. 

• Most submitters do not present visual material (eg slides) but if you wish to do this, talk to the secretariat about your options well in advance. 

• Let your whānau/friends/family/followers know when you’re scheduled to speak and given them the parliamentary live stream link (different for each select committee – ask the secretariat for the link if it’s hard to find online). If it’s safe, encourage them to comment live on social media! 

 How do I steady any nerves? 

• You can invite whānau to present with you – or just sit beside you as support 

• You can look to the MPs in the room who support your message, they’ll often offer encouragement with a smile or a nod 

• You can tell yourself that Parliament and its select committees sit in your house, your whare, and you have every right to be there. Kia ora! 

What do I do afterwards? 

• Congratulations, take a moment! You have just participated in democracy, as is our responsibility and right.  

• Stay a while with people you love and trust – coming off the adrenalin might feel a bit shaky, especially if you have shared personal stories. Let them tell you that you were amazing! 

• You can share screenshots of your oral submission on social media if it’s safe to do so, and let people know what ideas you shared with the select committee and why. 

Thank you for sharing your insights with decision-makers!