Page 450 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 16 February 2016
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Wishing to stay on the theme of being in the capital, the Canberra young adults who organised this event wished to provide the out-of-town young adults with a genuine Canberra experience. This included visits to Questacon, Parliament House, the War Memorial and, of course, a chance to meet a politician. An intern in my office who was involved with organising the convention invited me to present a lecture on voting according to values. My aim was to inspire these young adults to take an active hand in political issues and to voice their desires and beliefs on how this country should be governed.
It is easy to think that many young people might be more inclined to vote on the left of politics. It is easy to think that conservative young people comprise the silent minority. But, Madam Deputy Speaker, I am here to tell you that that might not be true. I saw hundreds of conservative young adults who were taking the first steps towards being more vocal and more active in politics. These young adults had recognised that the world was increasingly moving away from the values that they hold at their core and that they hold close, and that the time to stand up for what they believe has arrived.
I was able to encourage them to ask their representatives the tough questions—what their beliefs were and what they valued. I also encouraged them to pray for their political leaders and representatives, irrespective of their political party, that they would be guided to make the right decisions for their constituencies and our country.
After my lecture I opened the forum up to Q&A. After answering a particularly inspired young adult on how to become Prime Minister, I was able to use my own life experiences and stories to show these leaders of Australia’s future how to stand up for their values in places where those values may not be popular. We discussed how to ask questions directly of politicians and to get more than non-answers, how to find groups of like-minded people and how to get involved in the political landscape personally.
Since then, I have heard that several of those young people have made overtures to their elected representatives. This is a positive and encouraging step. From my viewpoint, it was good to be able to share and form a bond with a group of impressive young adults whose values are in many ways similar to my own. Madam Deputy Speaker, regardless of their political leanings, regardless of whether they hold conservative values or liberal ones, I encourage all members of this place to engage with young adults in our community.
The young adults I met at the annual convention of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were impressive young people. They inspired me with a renewed hope for the future of our society. My hope for them is that they continue to hold fast to the things that they value and that are important to them and that they apply those values to their lives and the lives of those around them.
Although these young people follow a different faith from mine and from many of us in the community, there is a fundamental commonality across faiths. I saw that commonality in action at the convention, and I am grateful to have had an opportunity to have contributed.
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