ADJOURNMENT

Ms MASCARENHAS (Swan) (19:45): What is a change maker? That's a question that was put to 30 senior high school students in my electorate of Swan last week at the third annual Swan Young Changemakers Conference. This conference was built on a simple idea: a change maker isn't defined by age, gender or background but by the willingness to push past what is expected and go after what is possible.

Held at Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre, a world-leading sustainable supercomputer and data centre, the conference put students right in the middle of solving real-world problems, and they got stuck into some of the toughest issues facing governments everywhere. These included housing affordability, artificial intelligence, future jobs, climate change and mental health, and their solutions were on point.

They had many ideas, such as access to cheaper university accommodation, more work placements, fully public electric transport and more sustainable computer data centres. Students came from Al-Ameen College, Belmont City College, Como Secondary College, Sevenoaks Senior College and St Norbert College, along with Kent Street Senior High School and Lynwood Senior High School.

The event connected them with young adult change makers and mentors who guided each of the discussions, and they also shared their own paths into making change through a speed-networking session. One of the senior Pawsey staff members Mark Gray, who's also a former NASA employee and Belmont City College alum, told the students to stay open minded about their careers and where that could take them.

For Mark's own job, he pointed out that his job that he has now didn't even exist when he was their age. Every year, I'm blown away by these young leaders and by watching students from different schools come together, argue it out and land on shared solutions. It's so fantastic to see.

Here's what some of the students told me. Summayyah from Como Secondary College told me that it's important that young people get a voice for their future. She said that the issues we discuss today shape people's lives, so it matters that their opinions are heard.

She also was the young member for Swan at the youth parliament in the last sitting. We also had Charli from Lynwood Senior High School, and she said that she wants Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teenagers like herself to know that they can be heard, that they will be seen and that they can make a difference. We then had Aicha from Sevenoaks Senior College, and she hopes that a little kid would look up to her and would want to grow up and be just like her.

It was fascinating because we had students from all different backgrounds—public schools, private schools, Christian schools, Islamic schools, students with bomber jackets and students with blazers. What's funny is that this particular environment was not about individual performance; it was about coming up with teamwork and solutions that affect their community.

What was really cool was the light bulb moment when they realised 'I don't have to wait until I'm 18 to create this change'. There were lots of highlights of the day. One of the highlights was one of the young students telling me, 'Miss, I felt like such an imposter being invited to come here.' I then explained to her that, no, she absolutely belonged there.

Another highlight was at the end of the morning, when all the formalities had ended, there was this real buzz in the room. All the students from different schools were hanging out with each other, taking selfies, and there was this real sense of creating possible change. This day would not have been possible without the amazing work of the facilitators.

I'd like to thank Ryley Wills from Perth Football Club; Dylan Storer, president of the Curtin Student Guild; Maisara Muzaffar, multicultural advocate and founder of YouthsOnly; Kritika Lama, engagement officer for Connect Vic Park; and Daniel Roden, founder of Wellbeing Volunteers at UWA. I want to thank my team as well, particularly Kailee, who led the event; Paul, who created some amazing socials; Dan, who stepped up at the last minute; and everyone else, including Juliana, who helped make it a real success.

I can't wait to see what these changemakers do. They are so extraordinary, and they are the future of tomorrow. They're fabulous.