Chris Crewther (Dunkley, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

My electorate of Dunkley is a diverse area, around a quarter of which is constituted of young people. These are young people who are the future of Dunkley and whose voices should be heard. As the youngest representative in the government, I'm also keen that their voices are heard.

It is vital that we invest in our youth. It is people such as Frankston Youth Mayor, Gerard Felipe, who are setting the standard. Last week I joined Gerard and a group of local school captains for a question-and-answer forum, where we had the opportunity to open up the conversation and discuss issues and ideas that they deemed critical to their generation.

In addition to being active in their academic areas of interest, Dunkley's young people are continually demonstrating a desire to participate in sporting endeavours, something for which I have been, and will always be, a strong advocate. The redevelopment of Jubilee Park—for which I originally secured $350,000—under which the plans for the new stadium were developed, has now resulted in over $5.2 million being contributed by the federal government, and also council- and state-level contributions as well. This project will not only promote involvement in physical activity but also encourage current and future young people to continue to be engaged within the community. In addition, the multiple funding grants provided to our local sporting clubs, from junior to senior leagues across a variety of sports, ensure that the opportunity to be involved is presented to all young people across Dunkley regardless of their circumstances.

Our young people have places to get to, and it is our job to make it as easy as possible for them to get to their universities, TAFEs, jobs and other activities. Transportation is essential for the majority of youth, and there has been a keen interest in increasing accessibility to our local areas. I recently announced that, together with the Liberal state government, we had secured a total of $453 million to meet these exact needs. I must thank in particular Michael Lamb, the Liberal candidate for Frankston; Donna Bauer, the Liberal candidate for Carrum; and Neale Burgess, as well as others, who have brought about this wonderful commitment in conjunction with the budgeted funding from the federal government. The electrification, duplication and extension of the metro rail from Frankston to Baxter will enable our young people to have the flexibility to experience the peninsula and outer regions, create jobs and make their day-to-day commute easier.

It is my job as the member for Dunkley to represent the views of our youth and to fight for their needs. I thank my recent work experience student, Alexia Kirkman of Toorak College, for helping me in writing and preparing this speech. I can only continue my work with young people by continuing the dialogue between younger people in my community. (Time expired)

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