STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Mr BURNS (Macnamara) (16:19): This speech was written by a young person in my electorate—also called Josh, but I didn't choose it because of that name—as part of the Raise Our Voice campaign. Josh says: At Christmas dinner, my uncle tells me we need less migrants. My friend tells me politics is a waste of time.

And I sit quietly. Not because I don't care, but because I don't know how to cut through it. This is my generation's political reality.

Paralysis. We're caught between loud opinions with no factual basis, and people who've decided the whole thing isn't worth their time. In a world where our attention is auctioned by algorithms, the news we consume is designed to provoke, not inform.

We learn which side to be on before we learn what policy actually is. That's the problem. We're politically socialised but not educated.

I'm asking Parliament to make political education meaningful. We need to do more to restore my generation's trust in politicians. Our education system needs a genuine focus on how to read and interpret policy so that my generation doesn't feel discouraged from engaging with the things that actually affect our lives.

Because the quiet ones at the table aren't disengaged. We just need someone to show us it's worth speaking up. I want to commend Josh for his words.

His words show exactly why it is worth speaking up.