Trent Zimmerman (North Sydney, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

One of the important opportunities we have as elected representatives in this parliament is to work with young people in our own local communities. It is an important part of our role, because everything we do in this chamber should be about securing a better future for that generation. Our work with young Australians reminds us that our responsibilities should not be set with just a three-year horizon. Our goal must be to create for the future an economic and social environment that is more prosperous, exciting and rewarding than we ourselves have enjoyed.

I represent an area which has one of the highest concentrations of schools in Sydney. They represent the finest of both government and independent sectors. I am particularly proud of their successes and those of their students—in academia, the arts, sport and the community. I am also always impressed with the understanding that students at both the primary and the secondary level have of our political system and their inquisitive minds about current political issues. I was reminded of this just today when I spoke with students from the new Anzac Park Public School during their Parliament House visit, and last Tuesday when I met with year 6 students at Loreto Kirribilli, who grilled me for more than an hour about politics and policy.

What also inspires me is the leadership and community service undertaken by students of all ages. It is easy to criticise those generations who follow us as we look at things through our own rose-coloured glasses and lose a little bit of memory about what life was like when we were young ourselves. Often we hear that gen Y and the millennials are too self-centred and impatient. I have occasionally accused some of my own staff of being just that. Yet what I see as I meet with students across my electorate is a group of young people who are incredibly aware of the world around them and the challenges we face as a society—a generation who willingly give of their time to support others through community and charity work.

I find this at every school—be it the year 7 students at Wenona I met with recently who are trying to establish a charity to help those with Rett syndrome, or the North Sydney Boys High School students I doorknocked with during last year's Red Shield Appeal, or the boys from Marist College who were determined to make a difference in educating their own peers and generation about domestic violence, or the many schools in my electorate who take a deep and compassionate view of Australia's role in supporting refugees. This spirit of community service is encouraged by our local schools, and they are to be congratulated for their efforts.

I also want to acknowledge the leadership shown by many students within their own school communities. School captains and prefects in both primary and secondary schools play an important role, and I am always wowed when I attend annual presentation days to hear the speeches given by year 6 and year 12 school captains. I only wish I had had their oratory skills when I was their age, and I am particularly grateful that they are not yet eligible to stand for parliament!

Last week I had the opportunity to meet with the current crop of year 12 student leaders when I hosted lunch for them in the New South Wales parliament. It was an opportunity for me to congratulate school captains on taking on the responsibilities of leadership in their busiest of school years and also to hear their views on the issues we face as a nation and as a community. All were impressive young men and women, dedicated to their fellow students and the broader community. They raised with me issues ranging from encouraging women into STEM subjects, to climate change, to LGBTI rights and housing affordability. Their understanding of current political issues was impressive.

I want to take this opportunity to congratulate all of those elected to leadership positions and to record their service in the parliamentary record. Those serving as school captains in my electorate this year include: from Chatswood High School, Nic Rodwell and Rachel Aquino; from Hunters Hill High School, Matthew Grey and Brigitte Villasmil Rivas; from North Sydney Boys High School, Alan Burzevski; from North Sydney Girls, Emily Kim; from Riverside Girls High, Aileen How; from Willoughby Girls, Samsitha Iver; from Loreto Kirribilli, the incredibly questioning Mia Toda; from Marist College North Shore, William Frazer and Luka Flannigan; from Marist Sisters College, Phoebe McDermott and Bellana Kallis; from Mercy Catholic College, Alex Swanson; from Monte Sant' Angelo Mercy College, Kate McNamara; from St Aloysius, Lewis McNamara; from St Ignatius Riverview, Jesse Gray; from St Pius, Joseph Unwin; from Shore, Max Sinclair and Toby Hoggett; from SCEGS Redlands, Annie Ryan and Bernado Croll; and from Wenona, Charlotte North. They are incredible student leaders, and I congratulate them on their service.

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