Jerome Laxale (Bennelong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Each year since I was elected to this place, I've had the privilege of delivering a speech on behalf of the voices of young people in my community through the Raise Our Voice Australia program. This year Raise Our Voice asked participants how they would like to see their community change in the next 10 years, and I wanted to take the opportunity today to share just some of the submissions that I received.

The first statement is from Tilly. She would like to see more done to protect our environment. Hear, hear, Tilly! Tilly is 12 years old, and she told me: 'By the time I'm 22, I would like to live in a community that has more trees, in a world that is more ecofriendly. The next parliament can help this by making laws to limit the amount of trees that can be cut down in Australia. We need trees to breathe, and at the moment we cut down more trees than we regenerate. I'm scared to imagine a world where there are no trees left, and I wonder why no-one cares enough to fix it.' Well, Tilly, we care.

Next I'd like to share the words of Nina from Boronia Park Public School: 'My generation will have to live with the consequences of climate change, and so much more must be done to help this. I think we must make sure everyone drives electric cars because they put less carbon into the atmosphere and are so much better for the environment. A way we could help everyone drive electric cars is if the government makes them more affordable. Then more people would want to buy them because they would be cheaper than others. When teenagers buy their first car, they should be helped to buy an electric one.' I agree with you very much there, Nina.

Finally, we've got the words of Amelia and Rain, who are both 11: 'Mental development is important not only for your mental health but important for physical health. Mental health is what helps you grow a happy mindset, helps determine how we handle stress and all these things. Schools can help promote this by providing programs that help children with understanding their emotions. Parliament can help by sending a message out to principals and local community members in every suburb which can make announcements at community or school events or meetings. By the side of mental health stands physical health. More parks should be made around Australia for our general health. Parks provide us fresh air, trees and all the things that help us with our physical health. Trees in parks could help with making Australia less floodable. Parks could also encourage more people to get out of their homes and enjoy the nature of Australia.'

I'd like to thank Tilly, Nina, Amelia and Rain and all the other kids who sent their Raise Our Voice suggestions to me. They remind us all of our duty to create a future that they can thrive in. I love involvement from young kids in the political process—it's something I try to foster and encourage when I'm back home in Bennelong. Their passion for a better, greener and healthier world inspires us all to act with urgency because their tomorrow depends on the choices that we make today. Thank you to Raise Our Voice for all the work that they do and thank you again to the young kids who wrote these very thoughtful speeches and sent them through to every member of parliament here.

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