Angie Bell (Moncrieff, Liberal National Party, Shadow Minister for Youth) Share this | Hansard source

I had the great pleasure of hosting the Leader of the Opposition when she visited my electorate of Moncrieff last week. One of the standouts of her visit was introducing the leader to exceptional young leaders at Merrimac State High School. It's a beautiful school that I have the privilege of visiting regularly. It's not far from my home. It's one of the 34 schools in the electorate of Moncrieff, and I love all of them.

The focus of the visit with the leader at Merrimac was to involve students in a young leader roundtable discussion. Firstly, I acknowledge the exceptional calibre of questions that the young people asked the leader, along with the initiative shown by our bright young leaders at the school. The pride they have in themselves, in the school, in their education and in their families was on full display, and I congratulate them on their achievements.

Some of the thoughtful questions asked by our student leaders were: How do you hope to support small business in the future? What are some key skills that leaders need to possess? How can we bring together the polar ends of the political spectrum for the betterment of Australia—a tricky one there! It's so very important to listen to the voices of our young people. They are our future, and they deserve to have a seat at the table.

It was clear that the student leaders seated around the table were eager to learn more about what it means to be a parliamentarian. There were lots of questions around that, along with questions around issues that affect them now and will affect them into the future. Together we engaged in robust discussion and explored topics of youth crime, the housing crisis, university affordability and, of course, the broader cost-of-living pressures they face. These are the concerns of young people on the Gold Coast, and we have a duty to represent them in this place and to ensure we act on their concerns and leave this place much better than we found it so they can continue to thrive into the future.

While I'm on the topic of young people, I also want to highlight my recent meeting with Australia's youth representative to the United Nations, Satara, who came into my office here in Parliament House in Canberra. Satara recently returned from New York, where she presented an interim report on her year-long nationwide consultation with the youth of Australia. We had a very frank discussion about the future of our country and about the issues affecting youth. We talked about pretty much everything in the half-hour period, from macroeconomics and social policy to international injustice and international aid. She also spoke about her experience at the United Nations.

There are truly some very, very remarkable young Australians among us, and I'm very proud of their achievements. I'm privileged to speak to them daily in my roles as the member for Moncrieff, the shadow minister for the environment and the shadow minister for youth. I'm very proud of all young Gold Coasters.

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