Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Youth and Sport) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Kingston for her question and note that she is herself a very passionate advocate for the interests of young people in Adelaide’s south, as well as I believe being the youngest member of this House. It is my great pleasure to provide both her and the House with further information about the Australian government Office for Youth, which was launched earlier today. Our government recognises that young people today face some complex and unique challenges quite unlike those experienced by previous generations. Media reports just this very week highlight issues such as the prevalence of self-harm practices, predominantly amongst teenage girls; the intense and increasing focus on body image; and emerging challenges, such as cyber-bullying, which accompany new technologies.

In addition to so-called youth issues, we also recognise that there is a generational divide in the opportunities and experiences of younger Australians across a broad range of portfolio areas. Many young Australians have quite different challenges and experiences in areas such as the costs that they pay for their education, the struggles for first home ownership and the consequences for them of dangerous climate change when the rest of us may not be here to pay the full price. Clearly, different times and different issues require different mechanisms and measures. Through the establishment of the Office for Youth, the Rudd government will be well placed to honour its election commitment and respond to the particular issues, challenges and needs of our youth.

The office will undertake a number of key roles. They will play a strategic role across government to bring a youth specific focus and ensure that the very best policies, programs and services are in place to serve the needs of young people. They will provide a safety net to alert government to issues and initiatives going forward which may have particular implications for young people. They will work on a few targeted priority areas. I can announce that one of the first of these will be working with the ministers for health, communications and the status of women to address what has been identified in major national surveys as the No. 1 concern of Australian youth, that being healthy body image. The Office for Youth will ensure that, at a structural and policy level, there is a dedicated focus on young Australians. Our efforts to serve this generation well will be further boosted next week with the official launch of the Australian Youth Forum, an initiative to better directly engage with both young Australians and the youth sector.

This government is strongly committed to making a real difference in the lives of Australia’s youth. The announcement today of the Office for Youth is yet another one of our election commitments that have been honoured. It is yet another step forward towards undoing the damage that was done by the previous government in this area. Most importantly, it is another way that the Rudd government is demonstrating its commitment to ensuring that young Australians are empowered, are included and are well supported by their government.

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