Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to provide the House with a summary of some of the dynamic and exciting discussions that were held in my electorate, the electorate of Kingston, as part of the 2020 Summit process. I held a local 2020 summit which many locals contributed to. In addition to this, a number of local school summits were held at Christies Beach Primary School, Braeview Primary School, Reynella East Primary School and Southern Vales Christian College.

I was able to visit a number of sessions that were conducted as part of the school summits. Students from all age groups participated, and during these sessions students demonstrated insight into the challenges that we face as a nation into the future, but they also showed enthusiasm to meet these challenges. Students also demonstrated a real commitment to improving their local communities. A wide range of issues were raised and discussed at the school summits. Key areas that were discussed in great detail at all the school summits were climate change, the environment and water. These issues are clearly on the minds of our young people today.

During the discussions at Braeview primary, it was clear that tackling climate change was very important to the young students. They believed that addressing climate change was essential to maintain the biodiversity in our country and to protect our water supplies. Students at Braeview believed that education campaigns needed to be developed to encourage people to turn off their electrical appliances, to use solar power, to plant more trees and to encourage car pooling. The students at Braeview believed that Earth Hour was a great idea and suggested that Earth Hour could occur once a week or once a fortnight.

Similar to this, students at Southern Vales Christian College discussed environmental issues, including the issue of water. Students at the college thought that there should be stricter water restrictions around the country. In addition, the students at the Southern Vales Christian College believed that the concept of commercial solar powered cars should be supported. Students at the college also discussed areas of health. Specifically, students raised concern at the consequences of binge drinking and smoking and believed that there should be stricter guidelines around the use of these products.

Students at Reynella East Primary School discussed issues in an online forum. One of the key things that students discussed was the impact that technology had in shaping the future. One of the key challenges that students identified was the impact that technology would have on the types of employment for the future. Students at Reynella East also raised the importance of developing transport options that do less harm to the environment and the importance of providing a compassionate healthcare system that supported the elderly.

Similar themes were also discussed at Christies Beach Primary School. Students discussed the way technology would impact their lives in the future. In particular, they identified that an increase in technology might lead to young people being less active and they supported the development of programs that would encourage young people to be more active and healthy. The students at Christies Beach Primary School also emphasised the importance of identifying alternative fuel sources rather than relying on petrol and also believed that encouraging water conservation through increasing the prevalence of rainwater tanks in people’s backyards was essential.

The feedback given by the students, some as young as eight years of age, clearly indicated that our younger generation is actively participating in our debate about our country’s future. These young people are engaged and concerned about not only the future of their country but also the future of their community. This enthusiasm was not just confined to the schools summit; it was also evident in the local Kingston 2020 summit. We had a cross-section of the southern Adelaide community attending the summit, and participants articulated a broad range of creative ideas on building a modern Australia. These ideas included developing a national charter of consumer rights, grassroots investment in assisting pensioners and low-income earners to battle climate change in their own homes and reduce their power bills, greater investment in rail for both public transport and freight, and artists-in-residence at schools as part of the education program in the arts. I would like to sincerely thank everyone in the electorate of Kingston for their enthusiastic contribution to the 2020 summit and I look forward to the outcomes of the summit process.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! It being 10 pm, the debate is interrupted.