Josh Burns (Macnamara, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I recently met four incredible student leaders from St Kilda Primary School, which is one of the very best schools in our local community. These young female leaders are a true credit to that fantastic school. Each submitted to the Raise Our Voice campaign, with answers to the question 'what do you want your community to look like in the next 10 years, and what can the next parliament do to achieve it?' It was their collective vision for the future of our St Kilda community that made their presentations so powerful. So I've taken a piece from each of their contributions to read here, in this chamber, today.

Tess wrote about our wonderful community she sees on the way to school and what she hopes to see in the future:

The walks improve by the day, because every day our community improves. There is less rubbish and more nature. People bicycle to and from work.

Cars are becoming less common.

Locals greet each other as they pass, because we have no reason to be separated as a community.

We finally understand that we are all on this journey together.

I think that is a wonderful sentiment from Tess.

I dream that every future step we take will be forwards, never running backwards.

Iris and Hannah wrote about the need for open spaces for our children and community to thrive. They said around 80 per cent of children that live in St Kilda live in apartments with only five per cent community space.

For these reasons, St Kilda Primary school needs a new hall. It would significantly help because not only would it host important events for the school, but children would run food drives, op shops, charities and migrant families could take lessons in English.

And Stella wrote passionately, echoing her fellow students call for a community hub:

We have research saying that 60% of Balaclava and 81% of St Kilda live in apartments. That means lots of people around our area don't have much outdoor space. That's where we come in. It would be awesome for the kids mental and physical health. It won't just be for the kids, everyone around us will also have the opportunity.

Stella ends with, 'Even though I may not be there, I would love to have contributed to this journey.' And I think that is a wonderful sentiment from Stella, demonstrating her advocacy—that even after she leaves St Kilda Primary School she seeks a future for the school that future students will enjoy.

Thank you to Tess, Iris, Hannah and Stella for sharing your visions for the future with me. We will get to work to try and make them a reality.