Jodie Belyea (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

When I was elected to parliament earlier this year, I spoke in my first speech about my passion for supporting young people. Due to my experiences as a mum of an 18-year-old son, and as a youth worker in Frankston some years back, I am committed to supporting young people in the Dunkley community to have a future.

In my seven months as the member for Dunkley I have met with young people and visited programs and services that help them—services like the Brotherhood of St Laurence, who opened their Thrive Hub in Frankston to meet the unique needs of individuals from one place, combining access to employment and training opportunities and connection to mental health, drug and alcohol and homelessness services. Other critical services include the Salvation Army youth service. Last week I attended a session where young people were finishing an incredible mural of native animals—a creative project to engage young people, giving them meaning and purpose.

A key strategy for supporting young people is also hearing directly from them, hearing their voice. I will now share a speech from Chris, a student from Woodleigh School in Dunkley, who was selected through the Raise Our Voice program:

Dear Parliament,

My name is Chris and I am 12 years old, I am from Dunkley and I attend Woodleigh School.

We need more help saving native animals.

There are cats, dogs and birds killing native animals and their precious ecosystems.

Hunting cats kill more than three animals every week.

On average, over a year, each roaming and hunting pet cat in Australia kills 186 animals.

This number includes 110 native animals (reptiles, birds and mammals).

These are just some of the numbers.

This needs to change!

These animals can't help it but if we have more facilities, we can stop this problem by making more pounds, aviaries and changing regulations around releasing and keeping these animals.

We need more facilities in Australia, as there are only 370 animal shelters. This may seem like a lot but there are 29 million pets in Australia.

Thanks, Chris, for your recommendations. I will continue to meet and connect with you and other young people from Dunkley, bring your voice and the issues that you care about to light, and bring suggestions and recommendations to parliament to create positive change for young people who are members of the Dunkley community.

See this speech in context