Page 425 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 20 February 2018
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Just this morning I presented the recommendations on the Weston draft Territory Plan variation. As members will recall, many of the recommendations—the majority, I think—were about community consultation and communication. For example, to facilitate public understanding of proposed draft variations, a side-by-side comparison of the existing code, the proposed code and an explanatory statement of the differences between the two should be provided. That was recommendation 4. We made a specific recommendation that the government needed to better consult and talk to the Weston Creek Community Council to discuss the issues that are raised in their submissions and provide a clear explanation to them of what the government was intending.
It was also very clear that we needed to have accessible outlines of the intent and purpose of planning documents. I am afraid that these recommendations have been made in other considerations of draft Territory Plan variations, and I anticipate that they will have to be made in the future due to the impenetrability of much of the consultation about planning matters. However, in conclusion, the Greens welcome this government’s commitment to broader consultation with younger Canberrans as a part of the shared Greens-Labor agenda outlined in the parliamentary agreement.
MS STEPHEN-SMITH (Kurrajong—Minister for Community Services and Social Inclusion, Minister for Disability, Children and Youth, Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Minister for Workplace Safety and Industrial Relations) (4.25): I rise to speak on today’s matter of public importance and in doing so thank Mr Steel for bringing the matter to this place. It is a common myth or misconception that young people are disengaged, uninterested in politics or community. But this has certainly not been my experience, either as a candidate in 2016 or since becoming minister for children and youth. In this role I have met many passionate young people engaged in building a Canberra community that is fairer, more equal and more hopeful.
Over the last decade we have seen young people across Canberra and across Australia drive campaigns for marriage equality, strong action on climate change, secure, properly paid employment and many other issues. For them, these issues are simply common sense. They do not always accept the barriers that guide more traditional approaches to politics. This perspective on what our community could be and should be is what makes engaging with young Canberrans both valuable and often refreshing.
But, like other speakers, I recognise that this activism and passion are expressed in ways that are different, that do not necessarily fit with our traditional notions of political engagement and can perhaps, therefore, sometimes be overlooked. Young people will frequently be on social media, organising marches, sharing stories and encouragement online and engaging directly with political leaders through comments and email campaigns. These young people want to be heard, they want to get involved and they seek to make change. But I think it is fair to say they are unlikely to do it through letters to the editor. That makes new ways of listening, engaging and acting all the more important for government, especially for a progressive jurisdiction like the ACT.
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