CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS

Mr ROB MITCHELL (McEwen) (10:51): Recently, I had the pleasure of catching up with year 12 students in McEwen as they head to their final months of schooling. Everyone knows what a stressful time this can be, and I was very grateful to Mernda Central College and Wallan Secondary College for giving me the chance to swing by for a bit of a chat. For those students, whether they are looking at further study at university or TAFE, an apprenticeship, a full-time job or even a gap year, they don't have to have it all figured out.

If someone had told me at 18 that I'd be a federal MP, I would have thought they were smoking something or crazy. I was an apprentice shoemaker keen on cars and football and other things, but people change careers. They study later in life and discover new opportunities that they never expected.

School leavers, like the year 12s in Mernda and Wallan, are being supported by our government—the Albanese Labor government—in a variety of ways. The Stuff you should know publication is full of practical tips, from info on your identity documents, like your birth certificate, passports, Medicare card and tax file number to understanding how the government can assist with accessing further study through Commonwealth supported places and HECS-HELP loans.

We're expanding paid prac to people training in an additional 10 frontline health professions. This will provide cost-of-living relief for students and support our future healthcare workforce. We've made free TAFE a permanent feature of the national VET system.

An investment of $1.6 billion to 2034-35 will support at least 100,000 free TAFE and VET places per year from 2027, and we've cut student debt by 20 per cent. To ease the pressure on the workforce—the workers and students across the country—more than $16 billion of debt for more than three million Australians has been wiped. We want the message to be clear: no matter where you live or how much your parents earn, the doors of opportunity are open; they're open to you.

I want to thank the year 12s for their insights. They showed remarkable understanding of the present political environment, in particular the need to reject far-right politics of hate and division. These young people have been lucky enough to grow up in an Australia that has embraced multiculturalism and know the benefits of it.

I'm optimistic for a future shaped by these young community leaders. Since 2022, the Albanese Labor government has been working to ensure young Australians have a genuine voice in shaping the policies that affect their lives. For too long, young people have felt they've been ignored by former governments, and we've made it a priority to ensure that their perspective is finally recognised.

In doing things such as our environmental grants, we make sure that no-one on that committee is over the age of 21, because we want the young people to be involved in setting these things up because, as it goes forward, they're the ones who will be reaping the benefit from it and seeing it grow and develop. It's important that we give our young people the opportunity and the support they need to be part of the process.

So, best of luck with your exams and navigating the years ahead. Guaranteed—in 10 or 20 years time, you'll sit back and think, 'Gee, I wish I was at school again; it was so much easier.'