Youth Parliament

YMCA WA | Youth Parliament 

During Years 11 & 12, I was elected as the Youth Member for Baldivis in the Y Western Australia's Youth Parliament. Youth Parliament was an incredible journey of growth and inspiration. Through the program I met inspiring young people from all over WA, and expanded my capacity to advocate for experiences that differ from my own. I learned a tremendous amount about the influence of politics in creating change and how to collaboratively draft legislation that benefits society and the environment. YP has been a life-changing experience for me, and I will take the knowledge learned and friendships formed with me for the rest of my life.

August 2024: We just recieved news that our Equality in Education Bill is being presented to the WA Minister for Education by CEO of the Y Tim MacDonald

Training Days

Education & Training Committee

Residential Camp

Opening our first debate as Deputy Premier and dining hall conversations with state MPs.

Ayor Makurchuot MLC & Sabine Winton MLA acted as speakers for our final day of debates. Our Adjournment Debate speech could be on any issue we are passionate about, I chose to speak about inclusive health & sex education, and was proud that three others also spoke on the issue.

Speaking at Council House during our final function & seated during the Closing Ceremony in the Upper House of Parliament.

With fellow youth leaders Tremane Baxter-Edwards (Youth Deputy Leader of the Opposition), Peta Humphreys (Youth Leader of the Opposition), Steven Thiele (Youth Premier) and Minister for Youth Hannah Beazley. On the right, former Minister for Youth Simone McGurk

Speeches in Parliament

Communication

Certificate

2023

In April 2023 I was accepted into Western Australia's Youth Parliament as part of the Women's Interests Committee.

There were 58 other young people in the program between the ages of 16 and 25, and each of us was assigned to one of eight committees to create a bill that was presented to the State Government in July. Our Women's Interests Committee researched and wrote a bill called The Women's Health and Education Reform Bill, which we defined as An Act— to address current gaps in women’s health services, and to educate society on current disparities in the issues experienced by women and menstruators in regards to disability, menstruation, sexual assault, and sexual health. We met in person at the first training day, and collaborated on our bill via Teams calls throughout the next month. Meetings stretched to as long as four hours - but all of it was worth it to present the bills in state Parliament. The Women's Interest Committee was such a passionate, supportive group of young women and non-binary members and I am still in touch with them to this day. Everyone in YP got really close, but our committee was especially close-knit.

In June, we hit the amendment phase, where we swapped bills with the Indigenous and Multicultural Committee to provide five suggestions on how to improve our legislation. Training Day Two consisted of icebreakers, team building, a run-down of parliament proceedings and leadership elections. Training Day Three was final preparations for our six-day camp in July. 

The residential camp is where we presented our bills in Parliament and debated various aspects of each of the eight bills. Our debates were structured Government vs Opposition and we had one for each bill, three per day. Each side was given a stance 'for' or 'against' but we could ultimately vote however we decided. 7/8 bills were passed by our Youth Parliament, and all eight were presented to the Governor on our last day of camp during our visit to Government House.

Youth Parliament became a highlight of my high school years. Meeting such passionate, caring, intelligent individuals outside of school was so beneficial for my mental health and the skills I learned will stay with me for a long time. YP even encouraged me to pursue law and policy development in my post-school studies, something I never would've imagined looking into studying if you'd have asked me two years ago.

In 2024, I have applied for YP a second year and aspire to go for a leadership position should I be accepted.

Speeches

Training Days

Residential Camp

Dining hall conversations with Senator Payman & Senator Dean Smith.

Women's Health & Education Reform Bill

Research, draft and final bill process.

Minister for Youth's statement on YP, my prepared speeches for the chamber & application for 2024.

Notes from the chamber and fellow youth members

Youth Voice in Parliament November 2022

I came across Youth Voice in Parliament coincidentally through the campaign's Instagram account via mine. After reading about the opportunity and watching previous years speech submissions I was inspired to submit my own, and though I had lots of ideas from the start, I had no idea how to convey them as a speech. The night before submission deadline, I combined everything I had written with some passion and a few hours later I had a 280 word speech laid out in front of me. A few weeks later, I received the exciting email that the lovely Senator Fatima Payman had resonated with my words and would be reading my speech in Parliament on November 21st. On the day, my friends and family gathered around me, both in person and over the phone, to listen to my words being amplified. It felt surreal. I had the pleasure of meeting Senator Payman and her wonderful team in the following months. She welcomed me into their office with such a warm smile and uplifting energy that I couldn't help feeling inspired the entire time. An incredible opportunity I won't forget.