Tonight I'll be reading speeches written by young people across Queensland on the issues that are important to them. I feel very privileged to help elevate the voices of these young people, and I hope they stay engaged and continue to push for positive change. To these young people: thank you, and I hope I do your speeches justice.

Grace, who is 14 years old, writes: 'The issue shaping my future is the lack of accessible health care in rural and regional Australia. While many Australians can visit a doctor just minutes from home, some rural families must travel for hours to reach a GP or a hospital. In an emergency, that time can make all the difference between life and death. This could affect someone's friend, child or sibling—someone who is cared for. This issue impacts not only rural communities but all Australians. As major cities become more crowded and expensive, many people would consider moving to regional areas. However, without reliable health care, schools and essential services, relocating is not a realistic option for many young Australians building their futures. Parliament can help create this change by funding more hospitals and medical centres in regional areas, encouraging doctors and nurses to work outside major cities and expanding telehealth services and transport options for patients who live far from specialist care. If students like myself can think of practical ways to improve Australia's future, why can't our leaders? Health care shouldn't depend on your postcode. It's a right, not a privilege, and it's time for parliament to ensure every Australian has access to care they deserve.'

Poppy, who is 11 years old, writes: 'Imagine growing up knowing your great-grandmother, hearing her stories and learning about her life. Just as you are old enough to appreciate those moments, her memories begin to disappear. She no longer recognises you or remembers your name. This is my reality. My Nana is the matriarch of our family, but dementia is slowly taking her memories and independence away. My family is not alone. Almost 450,000 Australians are living with dementia. This is expected to rise to more than one million by 2065. There are also around 29,000 younger Australians between 18 and 65 living with early dementia. Australia's National Dementia Action Plan talks about promoting equality and human rights for people with dementia. But what does this actually look like? In countries like the Netherlands, dementia villages provide safe neighbourhoods where residents can walk, visit cafes and go shopping while receiving support. My Nana has always been active and loves her daily walks. Now it is unsafe for her to walk alone. What if she could live somewhere designed around what she can do rather than what she can't? That is why I am calling on parliament to invest in dementia villages in Australia and to explore better models of care that allow people to remain active, connected and independent for as long as possible because people living with dementia deserve more than simply being kept safe; they deserve to keep living.'

Nabiha, who is 15 years old, writes: 'Hi, my name is Nabiha, and I am a Muslim Australian. I wasn't born here, but I still consider Australia my country. I moved here when I was three years old and have lived here for most of my life. I have never known a home other than Australia. The issue I wanted to bring up is racism—specifically the discrimination and hostility directed towards Muslims. When I go out, I'm always self-conscious about myself experiencing judgement from others due to the fact that I dress modestly and choose to cover my face with a niqab. Australia is a multicultural, multiracial country where people from all over the world come in hopes of living a safe and peaceful life without the fear of racism and discrimination over how they look or dress or act. However, at the moment this is not Australia. To solve this issue, I want the Racial Discrimination Act to be updated. I want it to explicitly cover religious discrimination, not just race or ethnicity, because right now Islamophobia is falling through the legal gaps. I urge the parliament to support school based programs that bring Muslim speakers, community leaders and youth ambassadors into classrooms. I would encourage MPs to visit mosques, meet Muslim youth and publicly challenge misinformation. I don't want a society where Muslims are treated differently than others. I want to live in a society where I, as a Muslim girl, can go out and feel safe, respected and fully accepted, where my identity isn't questioned, my beliefs aren't judged and my presence doesn't need defending—a society where diversity is normal, equality is expected and every person, regardless of faith, can be belong without fear or hesitation.'

Naeem, who is 15 years old, writes: 'Did you know Australia currently hosts 162 operational data centres, with more on the way? These data centres take up on average 20,000 to 100,000 feet and store thousands of files and servers required to run programs like ChatGPT. Data centres globally already consume enough water to fill 1.8 million Olympic sized swimming pools. Australia currently has the national AI plan rolled out in December of last year, which addresses some of the dangers of AI, including deepfakes and potential copyright infringements, but neglects environmental factors. The plan talks of building AI infrastructure with no regard to the strain it puts on our energy and water usage, and this excess consumption is likely to increase in the next couple of years. What I propose is adding to the national AI plan, adding regulations on excess water and electricity usage in AI data centres. Parliament should introduce strict environmental regulations on water and energy usage for data centres. AI infrastructure as a whole, with the current rapid expansion, could place enormous pressure on Australia's already stressed water supplies and rapidly growing energy demand. Introducing strict environmental regulations today would protect young Australians like me from inheriting an AI driven environmental crisis tomorrow.'

Thank you to Grace for her contributions on regional healthcare, to Poppy for her thoughts on dementia care, to Nabiha for her views on racism and discrimination and to Naeem on data centres and AI. We look forward to you staying engaged as you get older.