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

It's just unbelievable that they're talking about aspiration on the other side of the House.

I'll take that interjection from the minister. I rise proudly today to speak about the IMPACT Gold Coast Youth Summit 4.0, a nation-leading event that I was thrilled to pioneer in 2023. I continue to serve as patron in my role as shadow minister for youth. This year more than 200 young people aged 15 to 24 converged on the Sea World Resort conference centre to connect, learn and speak openly about the issues that are impacting them personally. This gives young people on the Gold Coast a voice and, certainly, a stage and a microphone to talk about their issues.

IMPACT brings together young people from all backgrounds—all cultures, identities, abilities and schools across the Gold Coast, and some university students as well. When you put young people from different backgrounds and different schools together in a room, that's when the magic happens. They get to meet new people. They have a new network and new role models, and new relationships are built. I call that opportunity. What does opportunity do? It helps with aspiration, which those on the other side don't seem to understand. It gives young people a platform to talk about their concerns and their hopes and dreams for the future, which is so very important.

We heard loud and clear from young Gold Coasters this year that their biggest concern is the cost of living and how they're struggling to pay their bills because of inflation and other measures that the government has mishandled. They're also concerned about their mental health. They're concerned, of course, about the environment. Right now, young Australians are being hit hardest by rising rents, by grocery bills, by fuel costs and by the soaring costs of their education under this government's gross mismanagement, and many young people feel that homeownership is becoming entirely impossible for them.

At the summit, 18-year-old Levi Knight, an outstanding young Gold Coaster, spoke about the growing financial pressures facing young Australians, from university costs and unpaid internships to transport and everyday living expenses. His message reflected what so many young people are feeling. They are working hard. They increasingly feel like they're getting hit over the head with opportunities disappearing under this government because they're going to inherit higher taxes, higher debt, higher cost of living and higher unemployment, which is all in the budget as going up, and fewer opportunities than generations before them.

I'd like to thank all of these sponsors for the IMPACT summit: Sea World Foundation, Griffith University, Southern Cross University, Village Roadshow Theme Parks, Homecorp, TAFE Queensland and many other media partners, as well as Karen Phillips OAM for her outstanding direction of the IMPACT youth summit.