The Raise Our Voice Australia campaign allows our young people to express their vision and their priorities for the Australian parliament. Today I'm thrilled to speak on behalf of Chloe, who is a 16-year-old young lady from Kingaroy in the electorate of Maranoa. Chloe writes:

One of the biggest issues shaping my future is the lack of affordable housing.

As someone who lives in a regional town, going to university in the city is complicated by the lack of affordable rentals.

How can we be expected to afford to find a place to live, on top of other living expenses?

I'm in year 11 and will soon be considering the move to a metropolitan area, although the cost of living is going to heavily influence the outcome.

If there is not a solution, the rental prices will put a hold onto my future.

Even if there are ways for me to get some help, like youth allowance, most are reliant on my parent's net worth, which limits the amount of help that I will be offered. How am I meant to get a higher education if I can barely support myself?

I understand that some will have their parents backing them, but unlike them, I must work extremely hard. I would propose that parliament consider allocating funds for students who must support themselves.

If the issue was fixed, so many people from poorer backgrounds would be able to afford to leave home and support themselves, providing them with an equal opportunity to a higher education.

Chloe could not have articulated that better. The challenges of regional students in having to leave home to go and get an education that many in metropolitan areas don't understand.

I will now read a speech from a girl in my community of Aston as part of the Raise Our Voice competition. Sanvi was the winner of this competition. It reads:

Dear Parliament, my name is Sanvi and I'm a 16 year old student from Melbourne.

I am writing to express my concern about an issue shaping my generation's future, the rapid development of artificial intelligence.

AI has enormous potential to improve education, healthcare and the way we work, so I don't believe the answer is to simply restrict it.

Instead, Parliament should invest in AI education and establish clear guidelines for its responsible use, particularly in schools.

Young people should be taught how to use AI as a resource while still developing independent thinking, creativity and digital literacy.

AI will most likely become a major part of our lives, and we have an opportunity to use it to our advantage. But we also need to ask, what happens if AI changes the jobs we are preparing for?

If technology can do more of what we are learning, how do we ensure our education remains meaningful?

We cannot stop AI from developing, but we can prepare ourselves for it.

I urge Parliament to invest in comprehensive AI education and introduce clear, practical guidelines for its responsible use in schools, ensuring my generation is prepared to work alongside AI and shape the future it creates.

Those are the words of 16-year-old Sanvi from Aston, and I congratulate her.