National Indigenous Youth Parliament 2014 - Highlights

Welcome to the 2014 National Indigenous Youth Parliament A gathering in Canberra of 50 young Indigenous people from all across Australia to debate the issues of importance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people You will meet a passionate group of future leaders from urban, rural and remote areas of Australia on their journey of self-discovery Our youth parliamentarians are brought together by the Australian Electoral Commission's Indigenous Electoral Participation Program in collaboration with the YMCA and the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House The young parliamentarians will give voice to Indigenous issues learn about democracy hone in on their leadership skills and put their stamp on Canberra We are the leaders of tomorrow These young people have been selected from over 200 participants from across Australia They have been recognised for their leadership activities currently within their communities so they're already young leaders By having a program like this and bringing the participants to Canberra and giving them the opportunity to practice being politicians within Old Parliament House debating issues that they are passionate about giving them an opportunity to speak on issues in their adjournment debates It allows them practice to want to speak out to want to represent their people to want to do it loud and proud As we move towards a more reconciled and equitable nation for every Australian just so we get the division well done congratulations that was really good Madam Speaker this policy was ripped from the toilet it should have been flushed from the beginning The last comment was verging on un-parliamentary Welcome everybody my name is Kate Waugh and behalf of the Australian Electoral Commission it's my great honour to welcome you here to Parliament House Youth issues they're gonna be issues that are gonna affect us 20 years from now If you don't start with us you are never going to get around that You make some very powerful points and you are obviously somebody who is in touch with your community My advice to you is that over the next few days you are going to be meeting with people who help make these decisions Whether it's Alan Tudge or Nigel Scullion or Ken Wyatt or Nova Peris or Warren Mundine and the like You need to articulate what you are saying but also try to provide a way forward As young people of Australia we're soon going to be the knowledge keepers of our culture of our country even you know and young Indigenous Australians we almost have a responsibility to step up and learn lots from our elders both Indigenous and non-Indigenous I don't wish to test your accountability but rather I'd like to ask a personal question So I just wanted to ask both of you how do you find that balance between your head and your heart Are you more driven by your head or do you listen to your heart at certain times or do you try and find an equal balance or something like that? That's what I'd like to know You need to be able to make head decisions you need to have a good heart but I do believe you need to make decisions with your head (I wanted to take this chance to get out of my comfort zone) (and just take that next step into becoming a leader) There's so much negativity like the stereotype of politicians but there's... Hopefully we change that Yeah this program has given me so much opportunity to meet people like yourselves and this morning was very inspiring and I did want to defuse the tension a little bit but thank you very much And I've always had a bit of self-confidence issues so this is my real coming out story I guess Just being here with all this mob it's been so excellent Having a social worker with first hand knowledge and association pushes and works towards the preservation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people culture and history What do they have to do with Australian democracy or democracy in general? And this lovely man was going to reply saying... Well the people need a voice and that's what democracy is all about I applied for the National Indigenous Youth Parliament mainly to become more involved in politics I don't know a great deal I've learnt a lot since I've been here I hope to learn more I guess within the Indigenous youth and not even the Indigenous youth just the youth in general There is a lot of issues we face and I think that its good to know that we have a voice within our Government part of coming here is mainly to reinforce that belief It's a real honour to be here tonight to welcome you the members of the 2014 National Indigenous Youth Parliament The National Indigenous Youth Parliament is designed to both foster and channel your efforts because it's absolutely essential and important for all Australians to have a say in the development of our country You are leaders now and I'm sure will be very good leaders into the future Be sure to share the experience talk about how the electoral process can work for your community Encourage others to seek the same opportunity I know the talent that you had to display to be selected for this responsibility This program has been so amazing we've had some really exciting opportunities we were able to go to Government House and meet the Governor General and his wife and it was just incredible The reason I applied to be part of the National Indigenous Youth Parliament I thought it was a really good opportunity I really wanted to be involved with a youth program I get really inspired by meeting other young Indigenous youths and hearing about their dreams and I guess the whole leadership thing so learning about how to be a leader to grow in confidence and how Parliament works how MPs work and how we can make change from the ground It's been so empowering and I feel like I've learnt so much and I've really been pushed out of my comfort zone and it's just made me want to strive for more To you the Young Parliamentarians a very, very special welcome to you The reason that we are here is because we are very, very proud of what you have done already and we want to support you in reaching your absolute potential Its an absolute privilege to be here today amongst so many inspiring incredible youth of today but they are definitely our future leaders and just listening to the gentlemen on either side of myself talking about how passionate they are about change and to get them to this role in order to make change it requires action and action requires motivation and inspiration and they've got the ingredients of all of that and they're talking about intervention they're talking about the impact that funding cuts from front line services have out on the community so their mind is already politically focused so its brilliant that they've been here for a short time but its incredible to know that we've got the future generation already talking about politics When people knock you down you should have ten reasons why you get back up When I get really down and out about things I have to keep going and the reason why is because of my grandmother I have to keep going and the reason why is because of my grandmother There is nothing better apart from chocolate cake than the victory and celebrate your victories you have stood up to people this morning that shows determination Can I get a here here? [here here!] Within the justice system several factors have also been identified as potentially influencing Indigenous over-representation Not one of these people are future offenders and criminals [here, here] You know I had a lot of encouragement and influence in my family and they told me not to give up and keep going and that really inspired me When I saw my people do bad stuff I said well I'm not going to let them keep doing bad stuff I'm going to stand up and I'm going to fight for them to make sure that we can show the world that we are the first Australians and this is not how we live our lives this is how we live our lives I can see myself making changes in the future and just helping my people so that we can show the next generation that we are here and that we are going to stand up and fight for our next generation to make sure that they get the best life in the future For a young Indigenous leader being at the Aboriginal tent embassy is definitely a very uplifting experience having Blackfellas setting up an embassy across the road from one of the most significant buildings in Australia are you serious? It's awesome! This place is amazing I wish I was here when all those marches happened and when the stuff went down here it would have been awesome Love you guys now remember stay proud and stay strong I think the change will happen from having more Indigenous leaders in our parliament and more so from the community I was the first Indigenous person to ever raise the flag the Aboriginal flag at the school and us to come here to have an insight of what these politics have to say to us is really meaningful because I'm really passionate about the Environment and I hope to see myself in ten years to be a politician Today is a particular honour for all of us Let's face it us standing here in Parliament discussing issues important to our heart and our culture has only ever been a distant dream We call for self-determination which means that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will be making the decisions for for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people Mr. Speaker the constitutional recognition will start the healing process but the Government can't stop there they cant do this half-heartedly of course there will be challenges but nothing great comes easy We also obviously speaking here at Old Parliament House and being able to visit Parliament House and meet with Parliamentarians was an incredible opportunity This world is full of nervous people who are winging it as they go along you should never talk yourself down let someone else do it enough people talk you down you don't have to do it for yourself It's such a good program it's so rewarding and you learn so much and the people you meet are just unreal I think with National Indigenous Youth Parliament one of the most important things that we get out of it is that Indigenous people are able to speak out I feel really privileged to be able to speak out for my community and what happens in my community and the bills we debate ones that pass will go to Government they will presented to Government and I think that's such an incredible thing that we've come from all over Australia and we represent so many communities and we're able to actually do something about that because we're only young and its amazing that we can have that much influence As a young Indigenous person along with everyone else on this participant camp we are actually not just coming here as a mock trial we're not coming here just to learn about politics we're actually having a say and a voice in issues that we feel that we face Our youth need us to reach out to them and show them we do need them [here, here] and we want the youth to be involved in the decisions that are going to impact on our lives their lives and their families lives and the future of Australia [Here, here] Why are the perpetrators still roaming our communities? I'm here to inform you that it's due to hurt and it's due to shame I move that the house now adjourn Like if something actually comes out of it what if these bills actually become implemented, you know? I can turn around and say yeah we did it our voices were heard by our Government and for young Indigenous people it's the most uplifting and empowering feeling that I've ever felt Our past has gave us a voice to actually be here today to speak for Indigenous people for our next generations The reason I love being here is because these are our young leaders for the future and spending time with them them and listening to them you hear the bubbly voices the hopes and dreams that they have and there's a couple that have said they want to either be Prime Minister or Governor General in the future and given that they met the Governor General today they now believe that we will have an Aboriginal Governor General and an Aboriginal Prime Minister leading Australia in the future In Australia its a very embryonic stage we've got a long way to go who knows what the future will look like I'm looking forward to a democratic strong Australia that recognises all people and recognises the same opportunities for all people and recognises structures and cultures of our people I'd like to ask everybody to take a journey with me It's a really beautiful way to end the day I think we've had a lot of really heartfelt and passionate and powerful things happen today Let's go forward now with the healing spirit in our lives Our people have come together again and our young people are leaving this place with not only the education from what we just experienced within Parliament House but with a little bit of healing as well It's a very strong and powerful reminder that Aboriginal people were here first and we are here right now and we're still standing at the front knocking on the door waiting for them to let us in