Ken Wyatt (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak today about some fine examples of groups and organisations that are working hard to provide opportunities for young people in my electorate of Hasluck in a bid to reduce crime.

I would first like to talk about two brilliant groups at the opposite ends of Hasluck but both with a shared goal. The Midland and Gosnells PCYCs are committed to looking after the needs of young people, many of whom have troubled backgrounds. Young people gravitate towards these centres for their normal programs but also in times of trouble. Recently, after the suicide of a young member, these kids—and they are tough kids—descended upon the PCYC to reflect and many of them cried. This is how at home and safe they feel there.

The PCYC is so important for some of the disadvantaged youth who might otherwise have turned to drugs or alcohol to cope with the terrible hand that some of them have been dealt in life. One young man sought counsel at the PCYC after he came home to a traumatic and shocking domestic violence incident. He knew where to turn, and the staff of PCYC took him in with open arms and looked after him during his difficult time.

There are many dedicated people who give so much at the Midland PCYC and the Gosnells PCYC, without asking anything in return. Today I would like to single out two of them. First Class Constable Kay Turner at the Gosnells PCYC is a well-known figure in the community. Not only has she dedicated countless hours to improving the lives of the area’s young people but she was also nominated for the WA Police Officer of the Year Award 2010. In Midland one person who is highly regarded among young people is the police officer Susan Stern. All the young people I spoke to during the election campaign and since have talked of her as a second mother. For some of them she is the only female role model they have ever known.

Another project that is reaping the rewards of young people flocking to its doors is Midnight Basketball. Proving successful around Australia, the Midland chapter of Midnight Basketball is already showing results. It has a proven program of ensuring its crowd of 12- to 18-year-olds take part in workshops—covering anger management, self-esteem and positive choice decision-making, substance and physical abuse, and learning job skills—before playing basketball. These kids are taught how to work and have fun.

Contrast this positivity in the community and real action that is helping young people with the policies of this wasteful Labor government. Programs like this deserve to be supported and can continue to be successful well into the future, with just a relatively small investment, instead of wasting billions and billions of taxpayer dollars on the NBN or taxing our industries with the MRRT or carbon tax. The Labor Party needs to inject real money into real programs that have real and positive effects.