Page 1384 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 6 May 2015
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to recognise the statement that Dr Bourke made in this place yesterday in relation to youth week, when he said:
Each of those events represents the way young people have been able to make their voices heard during National Youth Week in Canberra. Our challenge as a society, as the minister has said, is to step up to ensure that this is not just one of those once a year exercises.
It is normally the case, however, that when members of the government need to come out publicly and say that this is not one of those “once a year experiences” the chances are that youth week reminded them how little they have engaged with young people in this city previously.
I have an advantage over the minister when it comes to relating with young people—that is, the memories of what it is like to be a young person in this city are much fresher in my memory than they are in the minds of those members opposite. Mr Gentleman is the first person I have ever seen who is able to make posts to Twitter with nothing more than a pen and paper. During National Youth Week, at an event hosted here in the Assembly called Just Sayin’, which members opposite have spoken quite fondly of, members of the Assembly who attended included you, Madam Assistant Speaker, Mr Rattenbury, Ms Berry, Mr Gentleman and me. As is common practice at these kinds of events, we made use of social media to engage with not only the people in the room but also those following the event on Twitter. I was surprised to see that Mr Gentleman, who was sitting in front of me, in the front row, with nothing more than a pen and paper, managed to tweet or re-tweet in excess of a dozen times. Minister, if you are serious about wanting to genuinely engage with young people, don’t be a faker. Don’t hide behind your staff. As with most things in life, you will get out what you put in.
All too often when we discuss youth in this place the focus is on the disadvantaged or the marginalised. That is not to say they are not worthy of discussion but we often forget that the vast majority of young people in our city do not fall into these categories. They are focused on friendships, study or employment opportunities and how they might make their dreams a reality.
Touching on the substance of Dr Bourke’s motion, he asks the Assembly to take note of the government’s commitment to a number of policy areas that are relevant to youth. Paragraph (2)(b) notes the investment in sports programs. I think it is safe to say that this government’s desire to charge a premium to access public ovals for organised sport continues to be a barrier to youth participation in sport, simply because the cost continues to be prohibitive.
Paragraph (2)(d) talks about community support for youth but makes no mention of the funding that Mr Gentleman’s predecessor, Ms Burch, removed from youth drop-in centres. Paragraph (2)(e) raises the issue of transport planning. This is fundamental to a functioning city for young people, yet it is disappointing that we continue to be unable to have a bus system that caters for the habits of the city’s youth—namely, the inability to catch a bus into the Lanyon valley much after 9 pm on any given night. This simply restricts opportunities for employment and opportunities to have an active social life.
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