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

My question is to the Minister for Early Childhood Education, Childcare and Youth and Minister for Sport. What action is the government taking to address the issues confronting young Australians?

Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Early Childhood Education, Childcare and Youth) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Kingston for her question.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A timely question.

Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Early Childhood Education, Childcare and Youth) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It was a timely question, indeed, with the release today of the State of Australia’s Young People report showing once more that today’s young people face a range of issues and concerns which are unique to their generation—cyber bullying, body image and unprecedented levels of violence and devastation in street assaults, to name a few. These are all issues which those opposite showed they were not interested in during their 12 years in government when they sidelined youth and abolished the portfolio, but they are issues which we take very seriously. In light of this, the Prime Minister has announced the government’s development of a national strategy for young Australians. The truth is that it is in all of our interests to ensure that young people are supported in their families and in their communities, that they are well served in the education and training sector, that they have access to early intervention services and programs to get their lives back on track, that they are equipped for their future employment, that they are aware of both their rights and responsibilities. These will form the core of the national strategy.

We also know that the only way to provide tangible and long-term results in these areas is by working in direct partnership with young people, as well as with their families and their communities. That is why earlier this morning, in an interactive launch out at Lyneham High School with students from years 9 and 10 and with the Prime Minister technologically armed in his office with a live blog and tweets with young people right around Australia, we launched the national conversation, a series of meetings, forums and online activities right around the country, which will engage in real discussion and real action as part of this national strategy.

Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Small Business, Independent Contractors, Tourism and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Like the 2020 Summit.

Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Early Childhood Education, Childcare and Youth) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We also demonstrated that we are serious about action in this area. The member opposite has very kindly mentioned the 2020 Summit. I would like to inform him that earlier today the Prime Minister and I announced that the government will provide $10 million for the development of arts, business and community youth centres to encourage community based activities. This was one of the 10 recommendations from the Youth 2020 Summit when 100 young people from right around Australia came forward and put their views to government. Thank you for reminding me of that. These centres will offer a safe place for young people to socialise, as well as develop their skills in education, training and employment. This is yet another example of how this government is listening to young Australians and also acting on the advice they put forward.

Also announced earlier this morning was the inaugural Prime Minister’s Australian Youth Forum challenge, which will make available $120,000 in grants as part of a national competition for young people to get creative about how they get active and get other young people in their communities active and involved in their causes.

The third announcement which was made as part of the national strategy was in relation to violence. The Prime Minister has outlined that he has asked the Minister for Home Affairs to work with state ministers to work on the advice of our police commissioners to identify how best to tackle youth violence on our streets. We will have more to say on this very soon. We hear the community when they say that enough is enough. We hear the young people when they say that they want to be safe and secure when they are with their friends.

We are very serious about this national strategy for young Australians. We are serious about the national conversation and we are asking all MPs to become involved in their own communities by hosting forums in their own electorates. We have given resources to all members to ensure that they do that. We are also encouraging young people to become involved. If your local member does not take up the invitation to host one of the forums, we would ask that they access the website at www.youth.gov.au. Thank you.