Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Science) Share this | Hansard source

Today I'd like to recognise Heidi, whose submission was Durack's chosen entry in this year's Raise Our Voice campaign. This is what Heidi wrote:

My name is Heidi, and I'm writing on behalf of the Hedland Youth Advisory Council. We are a group of young leaders aged 15 to 20 who provide insight and advice on issues affecting young people in Hedland.

To prepare this submission, we consulted with the young people of Hedland to identify the most pressing challenges in our community.

The top concerns were better healthcare, reducing racism, and most significantly affordable and accessible housing. Housing is the issue that most directly impacts our daily lives.

As a young person, I've seen my own family forced to move multiple times due to rising rental costs.

While large companies like BHP can offer subsidised housing to employees, many smaller businesses cannot, leaving workers and their families struggling to find affordable homes.

This housing stress affects our young people's lives and their families' ability to meet basic needs like food, water and clothing.

Port Hedland is the exporting powerhouse of Australia and is a major contributor to Australia's economy. Yet many young people here face barriers to a stable and secure life.

We urge members of Parliament to take meaningful action to improve living conditions for young people in regional and remote areas like ours.

Awesome speech, Heidi. Well done! You have now been heard.

See this speech in context