Peter Khalil (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This week is Youth Voice in Parliament Week. Matthew Khwaja, a year 11 vocational student at John Fawkner College, in my electorate of Wills, wrote about what change would make a place for future generations. Matthews words are as follows:

One change Australia can make is to focus on providing support and education around mental health for young people at school. Mental health is not a separate subject to be timetabled, but must be integrated into all learning experiences.

The world is changing so quickly that youth in particular need to feel prepared for taking on the future.

Many young men in my culturally diverse community, don't know how to talk about their feelings and mental health.

Some of the stresses felt by young people in my electorate include the cost of living for their families.

As a young 16-year-old, living in the outer northern suburbs of Melbourne, I work a casual job to help support my family.

Many of my peers do the same and often struggle to keep up with the academic demands at school.

This is something young people find difficult to speak about and don't often ask for help when they are feeling under pressure or stressed out.

To make Australia a better place for future generations, we need to invest in giving young people and educators access to learning spaces and the skills to talk openly about how mental health impacts on our learning and our growth as young people.

Well done, Matthew! I thank Matthew for his thoughtful and intelligent words. I've no doubt that Matthew will be a voice for change in his generation.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In accordance with standing order 43, the time for members' statements has concluded.