Matthew Patterson Young Nats President

18 September 2006

Young Nats Conference a success

The Young Nats demonstrated they remain an important group within the National Party at their annual conference this weekend, says new Young Nats President Matthew Patterson.

Over 30 young people from around New Zealand gathered at the Ellerslie Convention Centre on Saturday to listen to a series of addresses and debate policy remits.

Conference highlights included an address from National Party Leader Don Brash. He gave an informative speech focusing on winning the 2008 election and reminded delegates of the role the Young Nats will play in this.

New National Party member Ian Ewen-Street, a former Green Party MP, spoke on environmental policy.

The Young Nats also held their annual meeting over the weekend and elected a new executive:

President – Matthew Patterson Vice-President – Alex Mitchell Admin Officer – Daniel Fielding Policy Officer – Andrew Glubb

“We’re delighted with how the Young Nats conference went this weekend”, says Mr Patterson.

“We have elected a very capable executive and identified a number of policy areas, such as the environment, tertiary education, and arts, culture and heritage, that we think young people consider important.

“Winning a larger percentage of the youth vote is a key goal for the National Party at the next election, and the Young Nats look forward to playing a positive role in helping achieve this,” says Mr Patterson.

ENDS

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