Youth Voice in Parliament

tochangeourworld
May 11, 2023
4 min read

"What should Australia's new parliament accomplish?"

Imagine what Australia could look like – and feel like – within the next decade if Parliament listens to diverse perspectives and actively seeks out young people’s assistance in decision making.

The 21st to the 24th of November 2022 was Youth Voice in Parliament week! Around October each year, Raise Our Voice Australia run a campaign to amplify the voices of Australian youth, this year by asking what they believe the new parliament should accomplish. Youth aged 21 or under in their state are asked to submit a two-minute speech in response to the question. Submitted speeches are distributed to Federal MP's and Senators all over the country, who each choose a speech to read out in Federal Parliament. The campaign is an absolutely incredible opportunity that attracts some powerfully worded speeches from youth all over Australia! Diverse perspectives, passions, and stories have created an archive of beautifully powerful messages Parliament is ought to hear loud and clear.

I came across Youth Voice in Parliament purely coincidentally through the campaign's Instagram account via mine, @tochangeourworld. After reading about the opportunity and watching previous years' speech submissions I was inspired to submit my own. I had lots of ideas from the start but had no idea how to begin to convey them as a speech! The deadline approached and all I had were notes handwritten in my journal and various yellow sticky notes. The night before submission deadline, I combined everything I had written with some passion and a few hours later I had a two-hundred-and-eighty word speech laid out in front of me. Proud that I'd made the deadline, I submitted my speech and, quite honestly, was so relieved that it was in on time that I forgot about it for the next month.

A few weeks later, I received the very exciting email that the lovely Senator Fatima Payman had resonated with my words and would be reading my speech in Parliament on November 21st! On the day, my friends and family gathered around me, both in person and over the phone, to listen to my words being amplified. It was honestly surreal! I was so incredibly excited, proud and grateful that Senator Payman had read something in my words that felt important to amplify in national parliament! For the first time, I felt like my words could really have an impact and be heard by those with the power to make the big changes in our country.

To Senator Payman, her team and everyone at Raise our Voice Australia: thank you for giving my words a larger platform. Thank you to everyone who watched it live with me and to everyone who submitted a speech alongside mine. Our voices have so much power, and so much can be done when those in power are willing to listen.

I had the pleasure of meeting Senator Payman and her wonderful team in the following months. She welcomed me into their office with such a warm smile and uplifting energy that I couldn't help feeling so inspired the entire time. Senator Payman is an inspiration and I feel so lucky to have had my words read so earnestly by her with the reassurance that there is at least one person I trust to make decisions on my behalf. Thank you very much to Senator Fatima Payman, Rose Lockhart, Lena Hee, Alex Tilenni, and Stephanie Gray for your kindness and encouragement!

Below is a video of Senator Fatima Payman reading out my speech on 21.11.22, a written transcript and a playlist of all the other beautifully powerful speeches received. I hope they inspire you and instil some hope that things are changing. Here's to hoping they gain momentum.

Youth Voice in Parliament: Senator Payman amplifies *Keira's voice on diversity.

*Autocorrect likes to change the letters in my name around!

Transcript: Imagine what Australia could look like – and feel like – within the next decade if Parliament listens to diverse perspectives and actively seeks out young people’s assistance in decision making. I believe there should be more opportunities and connections for young, Indigenous, people of colour and LGBTQIA+ people to be involved in decision-making in Parliament. Politicians have so much power over the legislations, laws, and opinions of Australians, however these views and opinions are often from the same types of people. As young people, we cannot vote until we turn 18 but we have so much to contribute. There is a stereotype that young people are uneducated on ‘the real world’ that I whole-heartedly disagree with. Australia’s youth have access to so many different resources that keep us informed and in touch with environmental and humanitarian problems we are facing. We have so much knowledge and experience on what it's like to live in our modern-day Australian society. We question everything and have the determination to change things. Our voices are so valuable if only people in power are willing to listen. If only they are willing to work with us, not just for us. With accessible channels open to communication, we could have a more wide-spread, current view on many topics and ensure they are actively resolved. Creating a more equal, inclusive Australia, for the world to be inspired by. Our voices hold so much value, and we are right here, ready for the opportunity to share that with Australia. If you are willing, ready and open the channels to listen.

Thank you for being here xx