Page 3563 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 18 September 2019
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At a broader community level, the Youth Advisory Council provides young people in the ACT aged between 12 and 25 years with an opportunity to take a leading role in participation and consultation activities on issues that affect their lives; raise awareness of the aspirations, needs and concerns of young people within government and community; and facilitate interaction between young people, the ACT government and the wider community.
The Youth Advisory Council provides the ACT government with advice on youth issues, giving young people a voice in our community. The YAC, as it is known, conducts a number of consultation processes, including think tanks, open meetings, face-to-face consultations and youth surveys. Council members also participate on other committees, working parties, task forces and other government bodies.
In the August sitting period, I was pleased to table the ACT government’s response to the 2018 ACT Youth Assembly report. The Youth Assembly was a deliberative democratic process to draw out key ideas and policy recommendations, run by the Youth Advisory Council. The issues addressed at the forum were youth mental health, homelessness and young people, youth civic participation and equality, and equity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people.
The 2018 ACT Youth Assembly report and ACT government response reflects our commitment to meeting the current and emerging needs of young Canberrans. I again congratulate the members of the Youth Advisory Council for pulling together the Youth Assembly and writing up such a useful report.
The ACT government will continue to support and strengthen innovative ways to hear the voices of children and young people and embed them into practice. We will do this by supporting and encouraging young people to have a voice through providing direct opportunities for them to be heard and participate in decision-making. We will also do this by continuing to listen to voices such as the CREATE Foundation, the Human Rights Commission, the Youth Advisory Council and the Youth Coalition, who are providing a voice for young people in our community and advocating on their behalf.
I commend the amendment and also the motion. As I say, my amendment is simply to add some information and to change the reporting day so that I can report back to the Assembly with some more concrete information and so that I can commit to doing that when the next steps of the process are clear. I thank Mrs Kikkert—and Mrs Dunne, who moved the motion on her behalf—for bringing this discussion to the chamber. It is a very important issue.
MS LE COUTEUR (Murrumbidgee) (3.37): I thank Mrs Kikkert, and Mrs Dunne in Mrs Kikkert’s absence, for bringing forward the motion. I acknowledge the ongoing passion and commitment of both of these ladies to ensuring that the child protection system in the ACT is as robust and effective as it can be. This motion maintains that commitment and it is consistent with previous motions that Mrs Kikkert has brought before the Assembly.
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