Page 221 - Week 01 - Thursday, 11 February 2016
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the identities of all our young people and promote resilience and respect between all of them, regardless of their sexual identity or how they identify themselves. There are organisations already doing this work. I am a proud supporter of the Safe Schools Coalition, which is working with schools and community partners, including Headspace, Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT and A Gender Agenda, to create better practices and cultures in our schools for LGBTIQ students.
I have also spoken in this place about my support for the say no to racism project that my colleague Joy Burch rolled out in schools on the advice of the ACT government’s excellent and dedicated youth advisory panel. These preventive projects work to tackle the causes of social stigma and shame that we know have an unacceptable impact on the health of many young Canberrans.
As minister for youth, I particularly support the referral of this inquiry to a committee process where young people themselves will have the opportunity to have their voices heard on this important issue. The strength of Assembly committees is their ability to bring the stories and experiences of Canberrans into the work of the Assembly. For young people, the ability to influence the decision-making on such an important issue is empowering.
I have heard from the Youth Coalition that both their youth advocates and the youth advisory panel are committed to advocacy on mental health and wellbeing. I hope the committee process will be structured to allow as many of them as possible to make a significant contribution and have their voices heard and respected by the decision-makers in this place.
MR WALL (Brindabella) (11.04): I am pleased to support my colleague Mrs Jones today in her calls to establish this committee inquiry. We need to get a better understanding of the drivers behind youth suicide and make sure that we as a community are properly equipped and placed to deal with young people as they approach crisis point. The Youth Coalition of the ACT has done a great deal of work around the mental health and wellbeing of young people and continues to do so. Last year the Youth Coalition released a report titled Mental health: perspectives of young people aged 12-25 in the ACT. This report was the culmination of findings of conversations with young people aged between 12 and 25 which explored why mental health is one of the top issues for young people in Canberra.
In the report conducted by the Youth Coalition, mental health and wellbeing are rated as among the top five issues selected as most important to young people. Feeling sad or anxious is also rated in the top five. I think that in itself speaks volumes about some of the challenges young people face today. I would like to quote an excerpt from the Youth Coalition’s report. In the section titled “Mental health as a significant issue of concern for young people” it says:
The focus group consultations confirmed that mental health is a significant issue of concern for young people. Participants identified that as young people they face certain pressures that means mental health is a top priority for them and their peers. They reported that expectations associated with school and extracurricular activities, such as sporting teams, can be a significant source of stress for many young people.
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