Youth Parliament

Ms COOK (Hurtle Vale) (15:31): Today, I will speak about Youth Parliament, which was held in this place last week. The South Australian Youth Parliament is coordinated by the YMCA and held annually in every state and territory across Australia. The South Australian Youth Parliament is a non-partisan program which enables young South Australians aged 15 to 25 to have their say on important issues, and build their skills and parliamentary understanding.

Some of the program's alumni—and there would be many I am not aware of—include the Playford mayor, Glenn Docherty, and former federal member for Adelaide Kate Ellis, who both participated in Youth Parliament. Who knows which of our future leaders will come through this great program. It was a privilege to be in the Legislative Council chamber for the opening of Youth Parliament and in this chamber for the closing. As well as this, I paid attention to many of the debates that were going on during the week, particularly attending the debate in the House of Assembly on the youth parliamentary drug safety management bill 2019.

I was more than impressed with the level of knowledge, insight and compassion that young people had when debating this bill in particular. No matter which side of the debate these young people took, the arguments were second to none; perhaps many of us in this place could learn a thing or two about evidence-based arguments in this space, particularly when addressing health and social impact harm minimisation strategies. I am pleased to report to this house that that bill passed by quite a large majority.

The young people meet over a number of months to develop their ideas and their arguments, which they would like to predicate within the process of Youth Parliament. They form committees not dissimilar to what we have here, and also develop their bills that will be debated during their sitting week. This year, in addition to the drug management bill, the young people debated a free data bill, sexual health education bills and national parks bills, as well as several motions including an Office for Women motion calling for equal pay for all South Australians. It was quite a progressive agenda.

The young people are led by a team of frontbenchers and the Youth Governor. This past year, the Youth Governor was Her Excellency Rebecca Lightowler, who is an engaging and inspiring young woman who leaves big shoes to fill, which I am sure her successor, Her Excellency Chloe Thomson, will be able to fill more than adequately with determination and drive. She has a very powerful story and I look forward to meeting with her in the coming months to see how I can support her in her new role.

This important program focuses on personal development, empowerment and connecting politicians and decision-makers with youth voices and opinions. Something I think we can all agree on is that we need to hear more from our young people. They are, after all, our future voters, our future leaders, our future politicians, and they deserve their voices to be heard just as much as those of us here who are probably a little more over the hill.

As I said previously, the program is designed to give these young people, aged between 15 and 25 years, a chance to be heard at the highest level of state government on a wide range of issues relevant to young people's lives. The participants in this year's program received training in public speaking and leadership at residential camps as they researched the issues they were passionate about.

I noticed several members of Youth Parliament speaking at the beginning of the week and then speaking towards the end of the week, and I could see the increased confidence that they had in their capacity to address their peers, often around subjects which are quite personal and which evoke some reactions that are difficult to deal with, even for adults. I saw young people trying to deal with powerful emotions and saw them being able to get through and complete their speeches, and I was very proud of what they were able to achieve.

The bills that were developed will be handed to the minister for youth as well as other ministers and shadow ministers to provide the government and opposition with insights about issues that are important to our young South Australians. The program, apart from it being overseen by the wonderful people of the YMCA, is supported by the Department of Human Services, the Law Foundation of South Australia, the Electoral Commission of South Australia and of course Parliament House and many members of parliament here who attended during the week.

I congratulate all youth parliamentarians from this year. I look forward to seeing the new intake as soon as they convene for next year and hearing about the exciting and informative legislation they will be debating. I have great hope for the future, particularly given the subject matter they are prepared to tackle.