Page 1386 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 6 May 2015
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Canberra’s young people recognise that improving our transport system is crucial to the city’s development and to building communities. Young Canberrans will ultimately live with the results of today’s transport planning and infrastructure decisions. That is why, as Minister for Planning, I actively sought the views of young people as part of the community consultation for my statement of planning intent.
Through a workshop for the statement with young people, I heard that many young Canberrans want to be able to live a short walk, bike ride or public transport trip from the places where they work and socialise. They want to see a variety of transport options available, and greater safety and priority for pedestrians and bicycle riders. Not all Canberrans have access to a car or are able to drive. Our transport system needs to provide options for everyone, including our young people.
The ACT government also promotes young people’s aspirations and assists young people to achieve their aspirations by providing financial support and grants. The Youth InterACT grants provide young people aged between 12 and 25 years with funding of up to $1,500 to organise projects, events, activities and programs that benefit other young people in the ACT, as well as small scholarships for individual young people who wish to enhance their learning capacity, sporting or career development.
The ACT government also seeks to recognise and honour our young people who have made significant contributions to Canberra in areas including community work, sport, education, science, culture, the arts or the environment. The young Canberra citizen of the year awards are now in their 25th year. They provide us with the opportunity to recognise the achievements of some of our outstanding young people aged between 12 and 25 years.
For most young people Canberra is a great place to live—a city full of brilliant possibilities waiting to be realised. But not everyone is able to make the most of these opportunities. Some young people face considerable challenges that many of us cannot begin to imagine.
The ACT government has invested in youth engagement services provided by the child, youth and family services program. This program supports some of our most disadvantaged and marginalised young people. The program commenced in March 2012 to provide early intervention services for vulnerable families, youth and children. The introduction of the program included a shift in the role of youth drop-in services to a more proactive youth engagement model that is in line with methods that are used both nationally and internationally.
To better support young people who are vulnerable, we have expanded the program. In November 2013 an additional $5 million over four years for youth engagement services was made available to seven service providers. This funding has been used to employ more youth engagement workers and deliver more programs. The additional funding has allowed for a greater focus on early intervention and wraparound services through additional youth worker positions across the community sector; the refurbishment of youth centre buildings and facilities for young people; resources and equipment for a range of structured programs to develop living skills, nutrition,
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