Generational Change

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (15:51): I might be continuing on from where the Hon. John Darley has left off. While what I am about to say does not reflect the make-up of this chamber, I feel it is an important statistic we should all be considering. From this year, there will be more Australians born since 1980 than before 1980. I only just scrape into the side of 1980, but by doing so, I am among the many post-1980 generations who comprise more than half of the population.

Why is this statistic so important and worth considering? I am not sure about other members in this chamber, but keeping up with the ever-changing technological and social trends that seem to be moving more rapidly than in any other time in history is an incredibly daunting task. These fast-paced changes in both social and generational transitions mean we need to get out of yesterday's trends and be ready to respond to tomorrow's and the days after.

Quite simply, we as leaders are not keeping up. We are playing catch-up. Yes, there has and will always be generational change, but are our laws equipped to protect the community from the new and even old challenges this growing generational change will experience? Will these fast-moving advances make life easier and will our younger generations be more socially connected and happier than those born before 1980? Perhaps the chamber can answer that question. The answer is quite simply and apparently no.

Reports undertaken across the globe and in Australia show the social media generation are those who are most lonely. New data from NewGov found that 30 per cent of millennials (people aged between 25 and 38) say they are always or often feeling lonely. Just 15 per cent of baby boomers report feeling lonely with the same level of frequency. Despite being more connected than ever before, and thanks to Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and other social forums that I have never heard of before, we have undoubtedly increased our social circles, but we have also created a phantom one. Why is this important?

The Commissioner for Children and Young People's report popped up on my desk recently, as I am sure it did for everyone else. It displays a graph titled 'Do governments have the responsibility to protect the rights of children and young people?' On average, over 90 per cent of people aged between seven and 25 said yes, with one participant aged between 12 and 14 saying, 'Our government has the responsibility to look after the world's future, which is us.'

Addressing these challenges faced by children and young South Australians needs to be tackled by governments. The answer to providing balance by harnessing the advancing trends and generational change is not going to be solved in this five-minute address—far from it—but we need to be looking at how we can get in front and support generational change. This includes educating students on safe social media interactions, a policy area I am pleased that SA Labor leader, the member for Croydon, the Hon. Peter Malinauskas, is seeking to address.

We may feel, as I mentioned earlier, that the post-1980 generations are more connected than ever before, but it appears they are the loneliest generation. We can talk to this growing generation or we can make them part of the conversation to help change this trend. To be able to make change, we need to understand how to make change and rebuild trust and integrity in public institutions and how society operates generally.

Perhaps we need to look at the past and look at reintroducing civics in schools, and we as leaders need to learn the best methods of communication. This is something I am particularly passionate about. Many members from both chambers, especially the President, have taken part in the Friends of the Library Harry Potter tours of parliament, where politics is pushed aside to better the understanding for young South Australians of how to create political change, and hopefully have a little fun along the way.

No matter the generation, jobs will always be the number one priority. We need to listen to the voice of change so we can keep our young bright minds in South Australia. I am not saying that previous generations have not faced challenges—far from it. I hope the since 1980 generations will not be confronted with the many hardships previous generations have faced but harness the tools that they have left for today's generations.