Page 3859 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 25 September 2019
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by the community; YMCA Canberra for I Belong art workshops on the theme of what it means to belong in the community, with the art to be exhibited during Youth Week 2020; the ANU Muslin Students Association Giving Back through Art and Craft project, with crafted items to be donated to charities; and a school community garden and composting bioreactor.
I look forward to the progress of these exciting projects in the months ahead and encourage children and young people to get involved and help make Canberra an even better place to live.
MS CHEYNE: Minister, how do we support young people to be leaders within our community?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I thank Ms Cheyne for the supplementary. It is critically important to include young voices when we are developing government policies and services. To Canberra’s children and young people: we hear you and we respect your views and your right to express them on a range of matters, including the future of our planet and the threat posed by climate change. The government understands that the decisions we make today will be felt by today’s young people well into the future.
The Youth Advisory Council is just one way for young people in Canberra to raise awareness and advocate on their aspirations, needs and concerns. The council delivered last year’s ACT Youth Assembly, which I was pleased to recently formally respond to, and worked to ensure that the voice of young Canberrans was heard and considered in the L-plate and P-plate reforms. The council has also presented to ACT government directorates and agencies on how to engage and consult with young people.
I was pleased recently to appoint seven young people aged 13 to 25 to the council. My congratulations go to Mary Roberts, Nicholas Villers, Jacob Gamble, Sophie Macdonald, John-Paul Romano, Tommy Lu and Haneen Al-Asfi. The two new co-chairs are Shaylah McClymont and Dhani Gilbert, with whom I met recently. Both Shaylah and Dhani are bursting with energy and a passion to improve outcomes for young people in Canberra.
I thank the previous co-chairs, Natasha Tioukavkin and Issac Martin, and the outgoing council members. Their work and commitment to the council and Canberra’s young people are greatly appreciated. I have no doubt that the new council members and co-chairs will continue to advocate on behalf of and represent young people in Canberra on a wide range of issues.
MR PETTERSSON: Minister, how can young people in Canberra get involved in and celebrate Youth Week 2020?
Members interjecting—
MADAM SPEAKER: Could you hear that question?
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