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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-05-30 Daily Xml
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NATIONAL YOUTH WEEK

Mr GARDNER (Morialta) (15:30): On Friday 13 April, young people across Australia celebrated the start of National Youth Week. The theme for this year's National Youth Week was 'Imagine. Create. Inspire.' Around 160 events were held around South Australia, hosted by 69 different organisations, and I want to place on the record my experiences of some of those events this afternoon. I note the support of staff at the Office for Youth in liaising with the many host organisations in bringing everything together.

In South Australia, the official opening was held at Old Mount Gambier Gaol. Unfortunately, I was unable to go down to Mount Gambier because it clashed with local celebrations for National Youth Week in my own electorate so, instead, Chelsey and I were pleased to attend the Frame IT Visual Arts Exhibition launch at the Campbelltown Library, an initiative of the Campbelltown Youth Advisory Committee. I was impressed by the range of stunning artworks created by some very talented and passionate young people in the Campbelltown area, and am glad to have the opportunity to acknowledge the winners in this forum.

Category 1 for people aged 12 to 15 years was won by Lilian MacIntosh, with Lauren Sullivan coming second. Category 2 for people from 16 to 18 was won by Alexandra Beckinsale, with Jenna La Dru in second. Category 3 for 19 to 25 year olds was won by Sarah Heatly and second prize went to Alexander Carletti.

On Sunday 15 April, Chelsey and I were thrilled to participate in the CanDo4Kids open day at Townsend House. CanDo4Kids do fantastic work for young people with sensory impairment in South Australia, and their families, and my congratulations go to Judy Curran and her extremely impressive team for all their magnificent work. I should point out that the patron of CanDo4Kids, Governor Kevin Scarce, was at many of these events—it felt sometimes like we were following each other around—and he does terrific work, as is often acknowledged in this place, for many charitable organisations in South Australia.

Those members of parliament who have walked along North Terrace about 100 metres east of here in recent weeks would have noticed the eye-catching 'project tag' mural around the Tuxedo Cat site which was launched on National Youth Homelessness Matters Day, which fell on the Wednesday of National Youth Week. Architecture students John Pagnozzi and Ellen Buttrose won a competition to design the project. They liaised with local artists and young people who have experienced homelessness to create an installation that is engaging and raises awareness of youth homelessness.

Sarah Nelson, a young person who has experienced homelessness, gave an inspiring speech at the launch, and I quote from her. She said:

Youth homelessness is often stigmatised as a thing or rebellion or a kid asking for change on the street, but it's not about that. It's about not being safe; it's about thinking about nothing but survival. Not knowing where your next meal is coming from or where you're going to sleep.

The project was supported by SYC and HYPA Housing and I would like to congratulate Paul Edgington and his team for their vision and hard work, and their tireless engagement with young people in need.

Also engaged with the needs and aspirations of young people in South Australia are, of course, the Leader of the Opposition and the member for Unley, who launched the first tranche of the Liberal education policy for the 2014 election campaign on Thursday 19 April during National Youth Week. I was pleased to be there in a room full of about 100 principals, teachers and education experts who warmly welcomed the Liberal Party's commitment to local school autonomy, with the decisions being made by people affected rather than Flinders Street head office. I note that at the time the government could not decide whether to attack our policy or claim that they were already doing it themselves, which is often a sign that we as an opposition are on the right track.

On Friday 20 April, along with the member for Ramsay, I attended the Look Listen Talk @ Salisbury North Spectacular. I witnessed some amazing talent participating in the skate, BMX and scooter competitions. The bravery shown by 12 year olds doing backflips on scooters continues to astound me. Olympic gold medallist Rachael Sporn launched two healthy living projects for the Salisbury council and encouraged all young people to live active lives and get involved in sport, and it was appreciated by all those present.

Finally, on Saturday 21 April Carclew Youth Arts Centre celebrated its 40th birthday with a surreal, artistic and entertaining garden party. All things considered, it is a shame that it was raining quite heavily on the day, but it was still enjoyable to those present. The history and the celebrations were enjoyed by all, including the member for Kaurna, who I know was invited to speak during the official proceedings.

National Youth Week also reminds us that our community continues to have a serious underlying problem that we need to talk about. How do we ensure that South Australia is an attractive and prosperous state that young people from other states want to come to and that our young people want to come home to, even if they travel and experience new things for a while first? Young people that I speak to about why they are planning to leave or why they have left South Australia often reply that they see more opportunity for career fulfilment and better short term and long-term career opportunities interstate. That is why we have a critical obligation to our young people to create the environment for businesses to grow and prosper in South Australia, and the career opportunities will follow.

We need to work hard to make South Australia vibrant and stimulating so that our young people can continue to be excited about it. They are passionate, intelligent and driven. We must listen to and respect their views and opinions and encourage them to build their futures here in South Australia. After all, they will be running the show one day and down the track—sooner rather than later for some members—we are going to need them to look after us.

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