Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It has been said that our young people are the leaders of tomorrow, and it is true. But nothing should stop young people in leadership today. That is why events like the National Youth Leadership Forum on faith and values, held in Canberra last weekend, are so important for developing a culture of effective leadership. The forum explored how people’s faith and values can impact on their approach to leadership. I was pleased to sponsor Katherine Allmond from Graceville in my electorate to attend this wonderful forum in Canberra. Katherine is studying education at the Queensland University of Technology and is using her skills, abilities and zeal to really make a difference in our community.

Another young leader in my electorate is Yassmin Abdel-Magied. Yassmin was the 2007 Young Australian Muslim of the Year and is the founder of the charity Youth Without Borders. This is a youth-run community body that strives to empower young people to work together to effect positive change in their communities. This is not bad for somebody who completed high school last year. She is now undertaking a degree in engineering at the University of Queensland, which I am sure has its own challenges, especially for a Muslim woman.

The Rudd government is looking to young people to play a significant role in meeting the big challenges of the future. And they really are significant challenges. We have a growing, ageing and increasingly unwell population with, unfortunately, a decreasing percentage of taxpayers; a skills crisis that will only deepen as members of the baby boomer generation retire; and climate change and the challenge of transitioning to a low-carbon economy. Young people are already leading the way when it comes to climate change because their future depends on it. We will not be here but they will. I often hear of children teaching their parents about the ways in which they can conserve water and energy around the home, and that is just the start of it. I expect that many young people will be among those who attend a community climate change forum in Yeronga in my electorate next month.

I have heard some people despair of generation Y as being apathetic and disengaged from the political process, but I think we unfairly blame young people for this. John Howard went as far as closing the electoral rolls early to keep 300,000 new voters from taking part in the last election. With this kind of cynicism from the previous government, it is no wonder that some young people can be a little disengaged from politics. A week before the last election, a Facebook poll found that 72 per cent of 18- to 29-year-olds would vote for a Rudd government. The message was loud and clear that young people do not want to be ignored any longer. They deserve to be front and centre of the political process. If we equip young people for leadership, read their blogs and listen to their views, we can meaningfully engage with them. They in turn can be inspired to get involved in their communities and to play a vital part in Australia’s future. (Time expired)