Melissa Parke (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

As someone who worked for the United Nations for a number of years, I have the pleasure of meeting many young people actively engaged in international affairs. As a 17-year-old—sadly, a long time ago now—I was fortunate to have the opportunity to spend one year in France as a Rotary exchange student, and this further sparked my interest in the wider world. It is exciting now to see young Australians involved in both local and international issues through the United Nations Youth Association. I have had visits in my parliamentary office from Henny Smith—formerly of Fremantle—Alex Rafalowicz and Mark Katsiaris from the UN Youth Association. Two other young Australians dedicated to ensuring young people have their voice heard on global issues are Beth Shaw and Melanie Poole, who are this year’s youth ambassadors to the UN and are now in New York for the UN General Assembly. Before going to New York they toured around Australia at their own initiative and expense, gathering the views of as many young people as possible.

The electorate of Fremantle is a multicultural one in which young people grow up with exposure to a variety of cultures. I regularly see young people wanting make improvements to our global community. Recently, Oxfam held a Make Poverty History event at Murdoch University, attended by students from the Fremantle and other electorates, focusing on the impact of climate change on world poverty. As we approach United Nations Day at the end of this week and the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights this December, I am pleased to know that there are so many young people preparing to lead and find solutions to the challenges of the future. (Time expired)

See this speech in context