The Y’s Youth Parliaments across Australia* have come together to elevate the voices of young people on issues that matter to them and their communities in the lead-up to the 2022 Federal Election.

The outcome of the election will significantly impact young people and our futures. The issues on the table stretch far beyond national prosperity, and have very real consequences for the issues young people will be facing throughout our lifetime.

These issues include the alarming increase in climate change, a dramatic shift in national and global security, a COVID-normal recovery, employment and wellbeing. These issues are ones that our decision-makers are leading now, yet young people will have to bear the brunt of their outcomes in the years to come.

As Ambassadors of the Australian Y Youth Parliaments representing over 500 passionate changemakers, we seek to elevate and unify the issues and solutions young people are bringing from their local communities to our state parliaments in 2022.

The most common issues young people want to see addressed include:

1. Greater access to services and infrastructure for rural and regional Australians.
2. Increased First Nations justice and cultural inclusion across education, employment, recognition of colonisation, and child protection.
3. Increased incentivisation for ecological sustainable practice, including a greater investment towards sustainable waste management.

Young Australians are currently seeking to advocate for specific solutions to the above issues, including:

• Increase in mental health services for regional and rural Australians Bill — Western Australia Youth Parliament.
• Cultural leave and mandatory disconnection from the workplace Bill — Education, Employment and Industrial Relations Portfolio — Queensland Youth Parliament.
• Period equality Bill — Women’s Affairs Portfolio — New South Wales Youth Parliament.
• Sustainability and carbon neutrality in mining Bill— Buloke-Lodden Youth Advisory Council, Victorian Youth Parliament.
• Foster care reform Bill — Indigenous Affairs & Reconciliation Committee, South Australia Youth Parliament.

Overarchingly however, there is a desire for increased representation of young people at the decision-making level, expressing a dissatisfaction of the current state of our representative democracy. Young people are turning towards informal mechanisms to engage politically, including protests, boycotts, or TikTok campaigns, indicating that our current formal mechanisms are not properly empowering young people.

The Australian Youth Parliaments implore decision-makers and community members to prioritise young people as active citizens and vote with their interests first at this upcoming Federal Election on the 21st May.

*The Australian State Youth Parliaments from South Australia, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia

Signed,

Kergen Angel, Youth Governor of Victoria 2022

Emma Winton, Youth Governor of Western Australia 2022

Portia Allison, Youth Governor of Queensland 2022

Shania Richards, Youth Governor of South Australia 2022

Abbey Dawson, Youth Governor of New South Wales 2022