Fatima Payman (WA, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I am grateful to take this opportunity to deliver a few speeches written by two incredible young Western Australians as part of the Raise Our Voices Australia program. The first speech is by Harry, who says: 'When answering this question, the first thing that comes to mind to strengthen not only my local community but Western Australia as a whole is to fix our healthcare system. Doctors and nurses are overworked and underpaid. WA hospitals are understaffed and, especially in regional areas, are literally falling apart. Politicians can say what they like about these issues and what they are trying to do to fix them but most don't consider the human cost.

Little boy Archie was born on 27 July this year, only a few weeks after becoming medically viable. As a premature baby, there were numerous health issues. However, this was exacerbated by the understaffing present in hospitals. Archie should have had 24/7 supervision from a nurse whilst in the NICU. He didn't. The mother should have had more medical check-ups to identify the baby was going to be born prematurely, but that didn't happen. Whilst understaffing was not the direct cause, it played a role in the unfortunate passing of Archie only a few days after he was born. Parliament must commit to more funding for hospitals and more incentives for medical staff to enter the workforce and make sure someone like Archie gets to live their life to the fullest.

The second speech is by Olivia: 'I'm Olivia. I am 11 years of age, and my electorate is the Tangney electorate. In 10 years, I want our community to have a greener environment, which means more trees, less rubbish and being more rescuable. Firstly, a way to have a greener environment is to plant more trees. We could get clubs or groups together in parks to plant trees. We could also do the same for rubbish. I know picking up rubbish is gross, but it will help our community and environment. The parliament should recommend that more people get solar panels. It helps the environment and it helps them. If you own solar panels, you don't have to pay for electricity and power during the day. Secondly, I think sporting clubs can connect to this by planting trees at ovals and making sure the grass on the oval they play and train on is healthy and not dying. It's important to make sure our environment is healthy at all times because trees and grass contain oxygen for us to survive. In conclusion, I think in 10 years we should have a greener environment, which means planting more trees, picking up rubbish and being more recyclable. So, dear parliament, let's aim for a greener future in Leeming.'

I'd like to thank both Harry and Olivia for taking part, sharing their concerns and their ideas and wanting their voices to be heard. It gives me great hope to see the tenacity, the drive and the engagement of our young Australians in getting involved with politics, getting involved with parliament and having their voices shared through the Raise Our Voice program.