Page 4095 - Week 13 - Thursday, 2 December 2021
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
the public arena. After all, diversity is a really good thing in politics. I am someone who grew up in public housing. I struggled with my education in my primary years. I am a person who helped raise their siblings, and I provided care to someone close to me with a drug dependency, all before I was able to vote.
I became involved in politics as a young person back in 2006 when the ACT government proposed the closure of 39 public schools, including mine. You have probably heard me tell this story before, Madam Speaker. You can imagine that when the government proposed to close my school, I was on track to lose the first place where I ever truly felt safe, seen and supported. It was then that politics chose me.
This is the case for many young people. Politics chooses them. They are aware of the issues they face in life. When no-one listens, they know they need to get loud. This bill would ensure that young people do not face the same situation I did. This bill ensures that young people will be able to present their support or opposition for decisions made in this place at the ballot box.
For young people facing great challenges—whether they be homelessness, drug dependency or discrimination—these negative events are compounded with their youth to amplify feelings of being unheard by those of us in here, those of us in power. Barriers to political participation are also multiplied for young people facing several sources of marginalisation.
Recent events have demonstrated once again that people from migrant and refugee backgrounds are often made to feel unwelcome in formal political environments. Despite this, a recent survey conducted at the University of Sydney showed that young people who grew up in a household with language other than English at home had the highest levels of civic engagement across Australian society.
Further, Tuesday’s ground-breaking report into parliamentary culture is a reckoning on the relationship Australia politics has with gender inequity and the voices of young women in parliamentary democracy. Nonetheless, Plan International’s She can lead report found that young women are engaging closely with the state of their democracy and have clear ideas about what needs to change to make politics a viable career for more women. Tireless advocates like the founder of Raise Our Voice, Ashleigh Streeter-Jones, have stood up for the democratic voice of young people since their early 20s. Voting rights are one concrete step that would enable young people to directly influence the culture and direction of their democracy and of our parliaments. Advocates like Ashleigh currently champion them.
With the serious existential crises and institutional discrimination that young people are facing, now is the time to ensure that they are allowed to engage in our democracy. Young people are leading conversations about the big issues that we face as a society. These young people are the first generation that will feel the impacts of climate change. And they will be the last generation able to truly mitigate some of its worst effects. This has not gone unnoticed by this cohort, as they lead protests, launch petitions and adapt the way they live in the hope that they can be part of the solution to these socio-political problems.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video