Charter Ambassador Program

The Hon. R.B. MARTIN (14:56): My question is to the Attorney-General. Will the Attorney please inform the council about recently addressing students as part of the Charter Ambassador Program?

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Attorney-General will ignore the Hon. Mr Hunter and he will ignore the Hon. Mr Wortley. The opposition will listen to the answer in silence.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (14:57): I thank the honourable member for a good question. The Charter for Children and Young People—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: The Charter for Children and Young People, developed by the Child Development Council, is a guide for the South Australian government to consider when making decisions that affect the lives of children and young people. It sets out 20 aspirational conditions of living that are necessary for young people in South Australia to thrive.

The Charter Ambassador Program is designed as an opportunity for young South Australians to learn about this chamber, the house and the parliament's workings and promote it amongst their peers to discover ways that they can make a change in their communities to see the aims of the charter delivered. Students who are assessed by their school as respectful and who support their own and others' wellbeing can be appointed as ambassadors.

It was a great pleasure recently to join with my colleague from the other place the member for King, Mrs Rhiannon Pearce MP, to meet with student ambassadors who were visiting Parliament House for the day as part of the program to talk about what we do in the Legislative Council chamber, to talk about the role of parliament in society and to answer questions about our roles and how people can get involved in the world of making change in this state.

Students asked excellent questions about the challenges that are faced by young people and the challenges governments face in improving the lives and wellbeing of young people, including questions about the various ways that we are representatives for our communities. It was a pleasure to be able to speak about the diversity that we see not just in this chamber but increasingly across our parliament that we hope to continue to see flourishing in the years to come and the excellent representation and ability of a strong female leader in the member for King, who reflected on her role in government and what she brings to her chamber of parliament.

It is crucial for the future of our democracy that the next generations of leaders are able to learn about and engage with the role of decision-makers in our local and broader communities. It was inspiring to see young people come into parliament to learn about that. I think that is precisely one of the reasons why this government has recently announced policy to create a new civics program in South Australian schools. This is so important, and I am keen to see how this investment in our future generations delivers positive outcomes for young people and for the future of our democracy.