Kate Chaney (Curtin, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is a speech written by a constituent for the Raise Our Voice Australia competition:

My name is Jassie Peng and I am 17 years old. I am from the Curtin Electorate. I want to see the government remove offshore detention for refugees and fully replace it with community detention.

The Prison-like environment in detention centres causes a lot of physical and mental health issues for refugees. It's much more humane for them to try to fit into the community while their claims are being processed.

The removal of offshore detention benefits Australia as well. According to UNSW, it costs $3.4 million to hold someone offshore compared to $4,000 for an asylum seeker to live in a community on a bridging visa while their claim is processed.

You might think I am just a naive 17-year-old teenager.

Even though I am not a refugee, I know that I would never take risks and travel to Australia illegally unless I am under mountains of fear. I can understand the desire to settle in a safe country, build a new life and watch my own children grow up safely, like any other children in Australia.

I am one of the many migrants who came to Australia. As an outsider, I have experienced the generosity, inclusiveness and warmth from my Australian friends, school, and local community. I learnt from my friends and community that being a part of Australian society, it's common sense to always give a hand to those in need, and refugees need us.

We should stop portraying refugees as terrorists and end offshore detention. We should stop making up political excuses and put promises into action!

Michelle Ananda-Rajah (Higgins, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It gives me great pleasure to read a speech today that was written by 10-year-old Harry Brennan, who is in the gallery, from Murrumbeena Primary School for the youth Raise Our Voice competition. Hi, Harry!

At Murrumbeena PS our school crest includes the words ''excellence through endeavour". Through the IB program, we are encouraged to be enquirers and risk takers. In thinking what the new parliament can accomplish, all I want is for our government to be resilient and to be brave.

I want our new government to spend money that is collected for good reasons—such as education, health, the environment (including climate issues) and looking after the rights of Indigenous people.

People with disabilities should be able to access education and the workforce in the same way that people without a disability can. People with medical needs must be able to get treatment without worrying about the cost. We need to take action in relation to the environment. The bushfires, droughts and floods will only get worse. The Indigenous people of our country have been treated unfairly by previous governments and they need to be listened to.

Most importantly, we need to stop just thinking about the past or the present. We need to think about the future. I want the new government to think about what will happen if we don't show everyone respect, invest in renewable energy and take care of the planet. We need to be resilient. We need to be brave.

Hear, hear, Harry! We agree.