About the current group

A new group of ten young people from across New Zealand have been selected as the Young People's Reference Group (YPRG) and will meet in Wellington on 26 February 2011 for their first reference group meeting.

Dr Russell Wills welcomes Prashan Casinader (Wellington), Jessica Palairet (Wellington), Amanda Ngo (Auckland), Ruby Lindstrom (Waikato), Aroha Selwyn (Auckland), Tawera Taylor (Auckland), Alex Kroch (Nelson), Jacob Smith (Taranaki), Izaia Tilialo (Auckland) to the Office of the Children's Commissioner staff and looks forward to working with them.

Kieran Denton (Canterbury) will be returning as a member of the Young People's Reference Group.

Jessica Palairet

Hey, I'm Jessica Palairet and I'm 15 and in year 11 at Queen Margaret College in Wellington.  I love music, baking and hanging out with friends. My three main issues for young people in NZ are obesity, NZ's teenage drinking culture and equality of education. I think that children's rights in NZ are really important because they give protection and support young people in NZ. I'm really excited to be on this group, and be a voice for young people in New Zealand.

Tawera Taylor

My name is Tawera Taylor.  I am 16 years old and attend Auckland Girls Grammar School. I am passionate about young people’s rights and hope we can achieve many great things in my time on the YPRG. The three main issues facing young people in my opinion are teenage pregnancy, teenage drinking problems and the attitude towards drinking and drug use and last but in no ways least child abuse and neglect.

Amanda Ngo

My name's Amanda and I'm 13.  I go to Dio, in Auckland and I am half Vietnamese. I love reading, writing and music.  My favourite sport is netball.  My three issues for young people in NZ are the alcohol culture amongst teenagers, the obsession with technology and the increasing pollution of our environment.  I think children's rights are important in New Zealand because children are people, and they will be the future of the country.  We have to make sure that they are treated right and that they get the best education they can.

Alex Kroch

Hey.  I'm Alex and I'm from Nelson.  I'm year ten and I love sailing, football, skiing and playing guitar.  The three biggest issues I think are facing young people are; alcohol abuse, violence and attitude towards education.  I believe children's  rights are so important in New Zealand because they help to ensure that youth get the best childhood possible, away from problems such as exploitation or discrimination, so they can fulfill their potential, discover their personality and see what they want to do with their life.

Prashan Casinader

My name is Prashan Casinader. Born and bred in Lower Hutt, Wellington, I am involved in arts and media in both school and the community. For me, the biggest issues young people in New Zealand face in this era are drug and alcohol abuse, bullying and the lack of expectation to succeed. Why should young people’s rights be restricted when our present is New Zealand’s future?  It is because of this that it is even more important that the voice of New Zealand young people is heard.

Ruby Lindstrom

Kia Ora, my name is Ruby Lindstrom.  I live in Te Kuiti and attend Te Kuiti High School and this year I am in Year 12.

My interests are music and sport.  I play the piano and the flute and swim competitively having reached National Div II level.  I enjoy fishing, water skiing and the outdoors.  My happiest times are in the company of my friends and family and sharing a good laugh with other people.

The top three issues for young people in New Zealand which concern me are; child abuse and neglect, alcohol abuse and the negative effects (personal and social) of IT and technology.

I believe that children’s rights are very important.  We are the future of our country and therefore our experiences of how we are treated as children, will dictate how we treat others in our society in the future.  

My thoughts on what children and young peoples ‘rights’ for New Zealanders are:

I believe that a child has the right to the Basic Rights of Life – food, clean clothing and to warm housing, to be loved and to feel safe. 

Young people have rights to be themselves (an individual) - to be treated with dignity, respect and to be valued; regardless of age, gender, culture or social standing.

I think that many young people do not understand that with rights we also have responsibilities.  It is my wish that young New Zealanders will be treated with respect and will also treat others with respect in return.

Aroha Selwyn

Kia ora my name is Aroha Selwyn, I go to Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Piripono which is a Maori school in south Auckland.

Some of the things i really love to do is netball, kapa haka. But doesn't mean I’m really good at doing these things & going out with friends.  I don't really like staying inside the house to much, i get really bored really fast.  I'm always there for people when they need me to be.  That's about for now.  Thanks for listening.

Izaia Tilialo

Hi I,m Izaia Tilialo. I am 12 years old, in year 8 and i am a member of the YPRG.  I'm Maori/Samoan and live in Mangere, Auckland. I like singing, playing rugby (which I just started playing) and I'm very imaginative.  I am very tall and I'm the tallest in the group.  I like fighting for children's rights and my 3 main issues are 1:Belonging 2:Friends and 3: Relationships. I enjoy being in the group.  It's such a great opportunity.

Kieran Denton

My name is Kieran Denton; I’m year 12 at Unlimited Paenga Tawhiti in central Christchurch, this is a unique school where your timetable is created around your needs and wants whilst achieving NCEA at your own time.


I live Just out of Darfield and travel in and out from school every day. This gives me a real rounded view of both rural and city life.  When I’m not traveling in and out of school I shoot big-bore rifle shooting on weekends and am actively involved with youth issues in my community. 



The main issues I see for New Zealand children are Child Abuse, Alcohol related issues both: The harm related youth drinking and also the problems drinking causes to many families in New Zealand and last but not least poverty. I see each one of these issues can be compounded by each other.