Richard Dowling (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I rise to acknowledge an outstanding young Tasmanian, Alyssia Kennedy, the 2026 Young Australian of the Year for Tasmania, who I had the pleasure of meeting just last month. Alyssia is the founder of Upturned Tasmania an the driving force behind the Life After School program, a practical, hands-on initiative equipping young people with the skills many of us wish we had been taught before leaving school. Her work is grounded in a simple, powerful insight. I share and endorse Alyssia's view that academic achievement alone is not enough. Young people also need to know how to budget, understand a payslip, navigate superannuation and tax and manage rent, insurance and the everyday cost of living. But her program goes further still, equipping young Tasmanians with practical, everyday skills that make independence possible, from cooking a basic meal to changing a tyre and managing the responsibilities of a household. In a state like Tasmania, where household incomes are lower on average and cost-of-living pressures weigh heavily, that practical confidence is not just a luxury; it is essential. What makes Alyssia's achievements more remarkable is that this work has been built largely through other own determination and, in a significant part, her own funding. She saw a gap, she stepped forward, and she built something that is changing lives. Across our regions, from north to west to south, young Tasmanians are gaining confidence because someone believed they deserved to feel prepared for adulthood. That confidence strengthens individuals', families' and ultimately our state's future. Alyssia Kennedy represents the very best of Tasmania—practical, community minded and quietly determined. Her recognition as Young Australian of the Year for Tasmania is richly deserved, and I look forward to seeing her work continue to grow and empower the next generation.