Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 4 Hansard (2 April) . . Page.. 1298 ..

MS GALLAGHER (continuing):

Last April, during National Youth Week, the Stanhope government outlined its commitment to the four key priority areas for young people-participation, access, transition and support. The four priority areas have been used to guide government activity in relation to young people over the past year. Today, I reaffirm our commitment to this framework for youth policy and program development as we move forward.

In the short time I have here, I would like to focus particularly on the issue of youth participation and involvement in the community. I believe that the full and equal inclusion and participation of young people in the community is an essential component of addressing disadvantage and improving social outcomes. It has been widely recognised that the involvement of young people in a high-quality education system is a key equity consideration.

The ACT does have the highest year 12 completion rate nationally for both females at 78 per cent and males at 73 per cent in 2000 to 2001. The quality of our education system can be measured not only through academic activities and the winning of awards, but also through the calibre of the young adults it nurtures and develops.

In order to remove barriers which prevent young people from reaching their potential, the ACT government is seeking to further promote inclusive teaching practices within school that cater to the diversity of young people and their needs and develop school communities with strong student support mechanisms. A key initiative to achieve that will be the development of individualised student pathway plans for all years 9 to 12 students during 2004. Through the development of a pathway plan, young people will be supported to identify their personal strengths and interests and shape their transition through secondary education to further study or work.

Approaches such as these emphasise that young people are individuals and have different needs. They highlight the importance of tailored and individualised responses that recognise the diversity of young people and their aspirations. In the time that I have been minister and the visits I have had to schools, I have certainly been impressed by the ability of schoolteachers across the board to meet the individual needs of students within their classrooms, and they are so diverse. In any one classroom you can have students operating across four years of schooling in terms of their capacity and interests. I think that the ability of teachers to teach across that spectrum and meet the needs of the young people is quite astounding.

Participation by young people in the community benefits those individuals directly as well as the community as a whole. It builds confidence in individuals and it improves the responses by government and the community to addressing need. Participation makes visible the diversity of the youth in our community and their willingness to make a contribution. The government youth consultation and participation initiative, Youth InterACT, significantly expands participation opportunities and the number of young people able to contribute to discussion on youth issues in the ACT.

Youth InterACT is for people aged 12 to 25 who reside in the ACT, including those who experience disadvantage and young people who would not normally be encouraged to participate in an initiative of this nature. Young people are able to contribute to government policy through a variety of mechanisms, including the Ministerial Youth

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .