Daniel Mulino (Fraser, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Recently, we celebrated Raise Our Voice in Parliament week. I'd like to raise the voice of Rahan, a young person in my electorate of Fraser, by reading this speech that he prepared. The following are his words:

According to a 2023 report from UnitingCare, more than 880,000 children under the age of 15 in Australia are socially and economically isolated. The cost of living crisis is a major issue affecting everyone. It highlights that while the cost of necessities such as food, housing, and other commodities is rising, people's salaries are not keeping up.

Children and families of the hardest hit by this crisis. Many young kids cannot eat nutritious food, let alone get the sustenance they need to reach their potential every day. According to a Foodbank report, over 365,000 children in Victoria lived in severely food-insecure households last year. This significantly impacts not only their physical development but also their mental state.

We must act now to ensure that young people have better opportunities in the future by giving them a fair chance today.

Mission Australia reports that those who experienced poverty as children were 3.3 times more likely to be poor in the future, 2.5 times more likely to live in social housing, and 2.5 times more likely to experience financial stress. They are also more likely to suffer from poor mental health and physical health.

In 10 years, I envisage the eradication of poverty, because no Australian child should have to endure the vicious cycle of poverty. It is a fundamental human right, and firmly I believe that if we come together, young and old, we can create positive differences. This is my vision for the future, and together we can make it. The countdown starts now.

I thank Rehan for his speech. They're very thoughtful words from a young person in my electorate, and I applaud this initiative, which gives young people a chance to have their words and contribution read out in parliament.

With an average age of 51 in our parliament—and I must say parenthetically that I look back with some fondness and indeed wistfulness at being 51—too frequently, the voices of young Australians go unrepresented. Young people deserve to have a say in their future and to influence the world they inherit. At school visits, I'm often asked about how young people can participate or influence the political system, particularly before they reach voting age, and I often talk to them about writing letters, about initiating and running campaigns and about petitions. Campaigns like the Raise Our Voice initiative are also critical platforms for the opinions of young people to be given an airing and ensure that all Australians are heard in our parliament. As Rehan says, the impacts of childhood poverty cannot be overstated and neither can the importance of young people making themselves heard.