Fatima Payman (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It was an honour to be part of the Australian delegation to the 146th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Manama, Bahrain, in March this year. I want to add my support to the comments given by Senator Reynolds, and I totally agree with the senator's emphasis on the importance of taking action on orphanage trafficking, among many other global issues. It was so good to see Australia taking the lead and wanting to make that difference.

I would also like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the delegation secretary, Dr Jane Thomson, and senior research officer Miss Elise Williamson for all your diligence and hard work in making sure we were at the right place at the right time. During the trip I was grateful to be able to contribute to the general debate on the topic of promoting peaceful coexistence and inclusive societies and fighting intolerance. I believe that this topic is incredibly important, not just in the international context of the IPU but also for us here when considering domestic issues. So I would like to take this opportunity to share parts of my contribution and reflect on how we can best fight intolerance in this place.

There are more than three million young people in Australia, accounting for over 15 per cent of our population. And our youth are fundamentally diverse. This makes them uniquely placed to inform government on how to build inclusive societies and to fight intolerance. Governments that work with young people will be far more effective and will deliver a better future for those they represent. Across our country, young people have demonstrated their political engagement on big issues of our time, and the right thing to do is to work together. It is young people who are most affected by housing instability and unaffordability. It is young people who will be acutely impacted by the effects of climate change. And it is young people who are the most exposed to changing workforce conditions and unstable work.

The insights and perspectives that young people offer are invaluable, and this government is committed to listen. We have established the Office for Youth, which is accountable to parliament, and are committed to a new youth engagement model which will be codesigned by the Youth Steering Committee, made up of diverse and at-risk cohorts, including First Nations people. Ultimately this is about providing avenues for young Australians to directly engage with government to ensure that policies and programs aimed at young people are designed with them and for them. It was very refreshing to see that other countries at the IPU received this information quite well and even thought about discussing it with their governments to make a difference in their political systems.

I believe that, by embedding engagement structures to make sure young people are heard and can contribute, Australia will lead the way in inclusivity and in fighting intolerance with the next generation. I take seriously my responsibility to represent those who have historically been underrepresented in this place, including young people and those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. This Albanese Labor government is serious about engaging with and respecting the contributions of young people.

Question agreed to.