Youth Parliament

Ms SAVVAS (Newland) (15:40): I would like to thank the member for Hartley for his comments on Mercato, which is, of course, one of my second homes in the north-eastern suburbs as well, and pay my respects to the Caporaso family—I went to school with many of their grandchildren.

I am here today to speak on the Youth Parliament program, and I would also like to note the presence in the house of youth parliamentarians, including members of the task force; staff of the YMCA; and the incoming Youth Governor, Samoda Silva. I would also like to acknowledge the outgoing wonderful, bubbly, bright Youth Governor, Shania Richards, who I do not believe is here with us today. Thank you for being here today and for your contribution to the debate about the future of our state.

As the youngest member of this house, the Youth Parliament program is particularly important to me because, as I am very often told and have been in the months since the state election, 'You can't be what you can't see.'

I was not a youth parliamentarian. I hate to admit it, I am sorry, but I was involved in many other forms of youth engagement: debating and public speaking at school; Young Labor; university politics; the National Union of Students, and the list goes on. I was also a parliamentary intern to the now Minister for Health, the Hon. Chris Picton, which makes me incredibly excited to consider the possible future paths for the wonderful participants.

The program incorporates so many inspiring young people, including residents from my community. I was lucky when I came in for the closing ceremony to spot Gabbi and Clarissa from my electorate of Newland and proud to sponsor a youth parliamentarian to participate this year as well. I would also like to take a moment to shout out to the incredible Eloise Atterton, who is not only the 2022 Training and Parliament Coordinator for Youth Parliament but was also the fundamental backbone of the 2021-22 Newland campaign. I have seen firsthand the fruits of this program, and our wonderful Eloise is one to watch.

The Youth Parliament program runs from March to August each year and includes mentoring, a training weekend, a week-long camp and access to Parliament House. I am passionate about this place being accessible to everyone, so having this program happen right here is incredibly important. Young leaders from all across South Australia come together to learn about public speaking, parliamentary etiquette, bill development and youth advocacy, and they put forward their ideas for the challenges facing South Australia across a series of bills debated right here in this chamber and the other place.

I was lucky to visit Youth Parliament on the day of their youth government elections earlier in the year and speak to the group about representation and the election of young people. It was an incredible privilege to join them and an incredibly exciting day for them all. I am still so warmed by the wonderful comments and questions I had from so many of the participants on that day.

They had an incredible display of public democracy and participation, with many people voting across the week to determine the government of Youth Parliament and electing Party B to the government of Youth Parliament. This broad community support is a wonderful reflection on the support that the program enjoys.

A number of bills were passed by the team, as mentioned by the minister, and I would like to mention one in particular that I thought was particularly interesting, the Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Bill. More South Australians than ever rely on electronics, which includes a greater dependence on lithium-ion batteries, which are present in almost every rechargeable device and which pose a major fire hazard if not disposed of or stored correctly.

The Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Bill aims to encourage the safe disposal and recycling of lithium-ion batteries by increasing public awareness and providing community centres with safe disposal boxes and funding the development of the first ever South Australian lithium-ion battery recycling facility. I will have to chat to the Treasurer about that one. This bill is well and truly a reflection on how young people view their own responsibilities to the broader community, thinking about not only their impact but also our whole society.

I think that is just one example of the great work the youth parliamentarians this year have done. I commend the 2022 Youth Parliament, the task force, the participants and everyone who has joined us here in the house today.