Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to draw the attention of the House to a group of very impressive young people in my electorate, at the Balga Senior High School, who are facing adverse circumstances but are continuing on with their education. I would just like to explain to the House why. We often hear about problems that are faced by young people in our society, such as drugs, alcohol and the rising cost of living—not the least of which is housing, of course—and all of this can take its toll on young people. What we must remember is that most young people in Australia go on to be great successes.

I would like to talk specifically about a group of teenage mums in my local community who have proved that you can take control of your own fate if you have the gumption to do so. This group are very smart young mums, recently graduated from the Young Parents Program run by Balga Senior High School’s Teen Family Centre. Most members will be aware that what happened in the past was that, if you were at school and you found yourself pregnant, generally you had to drop out of school and you would not have the chance to continue with your education.

At Balga Senior High School they are running a specific program for teenagers who find themselves in that predicament. It has given these young mums an opportunity to actually finish their high school education. In some cases they have also gone on to university. There is a childcare centre that operates there so that these young mums can actually continue their education and give themselves the best opportunity going into their futures. This really is a fantastic program. It was funded by the previous government, under the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy. It provides educational workshops and helps people develop independent living skills such as budgeting, cooking and personal skills. It makes young parents better equipped to be parents, whilst also being able to complete their education. This has some pretty impressive long-term implications for my community. If you do not complete high school, we know that your chances of being unemployed are greater and your chances of getting a poorly paid job are greater.

I would really like to congratulate these young mums for taking control of their future and I would like specifically to acknowledge the role played by Balga Senior High School. It is a school that faces unique challenges. It has a very high immigrant population. It often has people coming in with only rudimentary English, so they are often doing remedial English. But the school has taken on these challenges and it is doing something positive about them. I would just like to specifically mention the hard work done by the parents support coordinator of Balga Senior High School, Laura Allison, who is very much at the heart of the centre. The staff there are extraordinarily dedicated and compassionate. I congratulate them and the students they are supporting.