Gidgegannup resident and Youth Member for Swan Hills Zach Cole has been elected as the 14^th Western Australian Youth Premier as a part of the YMCA Western Australian Youth Parliament Program.

Mr Cole was elected on Saturday night by a close margin of 4% in the first ever full electronic election conducted for an Australian Youth Parliament.  The result was announced at a reception in Perth where members of the Youth Parliament assembled to view the results.

“I am thrilled to have been elected as premier by my peers and look forward to working with my fellow government members in creating some solid policy” said Mr Cole.

Elected members of the Western Australian Youth Parliament will meet in July and spend 3 days in parliament debating and passing bills which will presented to the Government and Opposition for their consideration.

Mr Cole is a 19 year old Law and Economics student at the University of Western Australia and will serve out a 12 month term.

Program coordinator Adam Vilaca said “ The new youth premier was elected by one of the closest of margins in Australia with one preference from the agricultural region separating Mr Cole and Mr McKenzie as Premier” Mr Vilaca also said “The Youth Parliament Taskforce is looking forward to working with the new Cole Youth-Government”

Rivervale resident Mr Matthew McKenzie was elected as the Deputy Premier.

The YMCA Western Australian Youth Parliament Taskforce announced today that Australind resident Ms Stephanie Jackson had been appointed as Western Australia’s 14^th Youth Governor.

Her Excellency said “I am extremely thrilled to have been appointed, and can't wait to meet Western Australia’s newest youth MP’s”

Her Excellency’s appointment marks the inaugural Western Australian Legislative Council which combined with the Youth Legislative Assembly will represent every electorate in the state.

Her Excellency will address the annual Western Australian Youth Parliament in July this year before having a private meeting with his Excellency the Governor at his residence to present the bills of the Youth Parliament.  

Stephanie is currently residing in Perth, completing her Education Degree at Edith Cowan University.

The 2009 Western Australian Youth Parliament Taskforce would like to congratulate Terrence Winner the WA Young Person of the year. Terrence “TJ” put many years of hard work into Youth Parliament serving as Member for Kalgoorlie from 2005-2006, Leader of the Opposition in 2006 and Program Coordinator in 2007.

“As the youngest CEO YMCA Australia has ever had, Terrence is a valuable asset for the Goldfields community. Terrence prefers a hands-on approach which has seen him initiate, develop, coordinate and manage a range of community projects. These include the YMCA TRAX (Teenagers Reaching and Achieving Excellence) program, providing vital life skills to severely disadvantaged youth, and the Youth 4 Youth Community Mentoring program, which gives young people the opportunity to become leaders in their community. Drawing on his own experience as a young single father with sole custody of his daughter, Terrence has also become an active spokesperson for fathers and young parents, establishing Western Australia's first father's only Playgroup, and the Kalgoorlie Young Parents Committee. The programs highlighted are only a small selection of the wide array of community based projects developed and managed by Terrence, who has dedicated his life to enabling young people to achieve to their full potential and become active members of their community.” Office for Youth http://www.childrenandyouth.wa.gov.au/template.asp?CID=91

The Names of the successful applicants of the 2009 YMCA Western Australian Youth Parliament have been announced as a result of the ending of applications. All seats are  confirmed with participants being listed on the Youth Parliament Website.

Legislative Council offers are currently being distributed with all Youth Parliamentarians soon to receive correspondence in the post about commencing their positions.

The 2009 Western Australian Youth Parliament Taskforce has been announced with all positions except ICT Coordinator being filled. The new Taskforce can be accessed by visiting the Taskforce section of the website. The new organisational chart can also be found at this location. Adam Vilaca will be taking the position of ICT Coordinator until the post can be filled.

This morning Cameron Barnes YMLA Youth Premier and Daniel Earl YMLA Leader of the Opposition met with Ben Wyatt MLA Memeber for Victoria Park on Access 31 to discuss the YP2008 Program. This interview will be repeated today at 10:30am and can be watched online via the Wake Up WA website. For information about getting involved with next years program or if you you would like to watch this years program please contact Adam Vilaca at adam.vilaca@youthparlwa.com