Page 1809 - Week 05 - Thursday, 2 April 2009
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future. But I know the government cannot do everything, and this is especially true in children and youth policy. In fact, sometimes the right thing to do is simply support the people in our city who are already doing the right thing.
I am determined not to lose sight of who really is in charge of children and youth policy in this city. It is not this government or this Assembly. Who is in charge? Canberra families, the mums and dads who are exhausted after tea and clear the kitchen table to help their kids with maths; separated parents meeting up at McDonald’s on Saturday, handing over the kids and comparing notes on how they are doing; the uncle who takes the troubled teenage boy surfing and listens to him talk. They do more for kids than any government or any parliament ever can. But as a government we can give practical help to help all Canberra’s children and young people—not just the challenging cases or the teen prodigies but every kid.
Let me give some examples that show just how wide ranging the government efforts are to support all Canberra children and youth. We are supporting child friendly planning of our city. The government will continue to incorporate the principles of child friendly planning into the future of our city. But what does that mean? It means improving the design of neighbourhoods to ensure children’s safety without imposing on their enjoyment of the natural world; creating public spaces which encourage unstructured play; creating interesting streetscapes where children can walk and cycle safely; planning spots for families to relax and have barbeques near playgrounds and parks; extending child friendly spaces through our cities, shopping centres and local shops; improving children’s connections with their community and neighbourhood—something that all kids can benefit from.
Parents tell me they are more worried about children’s health than ever before. And young people tell me that obesity and eating disorders are amongst their greatest fears. So we are supporting healthy lifestyles for our kids through sport and recreation, firstly, through the Children’s Physical Education Foundation. In 2008, the foundation provided over $73,000 in grants to primary schools and sport and recreation organisations.
We are also supporting healthy lifestyles through the minister’s physical activity challenge. Over 13,000 children and young people in 2008 participated in this challenge which required them to be active for at least 60 minutes a day, five days a week for 10 weeks. It was such a success that I am pleased to advise the challenge will be held again in 2009. I do look forward to being part of the challenge and I know that the children and young people of the ACT will respond. And it is something that all kids can benefit from.
Young people also never stop talking to me about the environment and about their plans to make a difference. So we are supporting them with new education and training opportunities for the green-collar jobs of the future. We can barely imagine some of the jobs that will exist in the future. Climate change will influence all sectors of our economy. Indeed, the Garnaut review estimated that more than 2.5 million green-collar jobs will be created over the next two decades—high-skill, high-wage jobs in sectors like construction, energy, transport and agriculture. We need to ensure that our kids are ready for the sustainable economy that they will live and work in.
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