Legislative Council Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1) 55 1 Parliament of South Australia Legislative Council published Question Time Teen Parliament Teen Parliament The Hon. J.E. HANSON Legislative Council Teen Parliament The Hon. J.E. HANSON (15:15): My question is to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. Will the minister inform the council about his recent attendance at The Advertiser's Teen Parliament program? The Hon. K.J. MAHER Legislative Council Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Attorney-General Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector Teen Parliament The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:15): I would be most pleased to inform the member about my recent attendance at the Adelaide Teen Parliament program, and I thank the honourable member for his question and his interest in this area. It was a great pleasure to be invited, along with a wonderful group of children and other members of this place and the other place, to the South Australian school students who took part in The Advertiser's Teen Parliament program very recently. The Advertiser's initiative has been a huge success since its inception, bringing passionate young people from across the state together to share their diverse ideas and to give them a taste of the parliamentary process. I was able to get along and see some of the students take to the floor to share their excellent ideas. It was particularly pleasing to speak to some of the students during the morning break about their proposals and what they had put forward. It was great to see, as I said, a number of other members of parliament there on the day, including the Minister for Education, the Hon. Blair Boyer; the member for Waite, Catherine Hutchesson MP; the honourable member who asked the question, Justin Hanson MLC; as well as the Speaker of the House of Assembly, the member for Kavel. It particularly inspired me to see a number of Aboriginal students representing their schools, speaking about issues that affect their communities. It was a great pleasure again to spend time with Keira Trevorrow, whom I met with last year at Mount Barker High School during the local country cabinet that was held. Keira was certainly impressive with her insights and intellect beyond her years, and her skills were once again on display in parliament, where she spoke about the Ngarrindjeri practice of basket weaving as a means of reconnecting with culture following substance abuse. Shayla Holloway, representing the Tjindu Foundation, informed people in the chamber about the prevalence of pancreatitis in Aboriginal people and sought to raise awareness of this serious health matter and its symptoms and to assist with early detection and better outcomes. I had the opportunity to speak with St Aloysius student and Tjindu Foundation representative Tatum McLean in the chamber about her local experience on a school trip to the APY lands and her subsequent proposal to introduce culturally sensitive transition programs for those who are coming down from the lands to attend school in Adelaide. The speech of Kaurna Plains student Peyton Turner has received much acclaim. Peyton moved the chamber when she addressed the group partly in her Kaurna language before explaining her vision of Kaurna language being taught at all schools on Kaurna Yerta. I think everyone who met with or saw the members of The Advertiser's Teen Parliament in action agreed that if Teen Parliament is anything to go by the future of our state is in good hands with students like these at the helm. I look forward to seeing the heights that many of these students rise to and to seeing what the Teen Parliament produces next year.