CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS

Mr WILLCOX (Dawson) (10:42): I rise to recognise Nate Ralph from Mackay, whose speech was selected by the Raise our Voice committee as the winning entry from Dawson. Nate's speech is as follows: The future of Australia is in the country. With 70% of export earnings and half of the tourism industry, 9 million Australians who do not live in our capital cities are powering this country.

However, these same people driving the nation are faced with communities underfunded, overlooked and full of barriers against their way of life. From being nearly 3 times more likely to die from preventable diseases and lives a decade and a half shorter than those in the city, Regional Australian's have a raw deal. They face a lack of basic infrastructure and health services you would not expect living in a first world country.

But it doesn't have to be this way, regional Australia deserves a fair share of their earnings. With the resources industry generating billions in revenue, every dollar comes from regional Australia. The communities creating this wealth must be able to have a part of it.

Through bringing these royalties back to the regions, we can have safe and quality infrastructure you can rely on. We can have quality healthcare that can close the gap between the country and the city. Regional Australia deserves a fair deal for the work they put in because the Future of Australia is in the country.

Well said and thank you, Nate. Nate was also a member of Mackay's inaugural youth council, which made history in 2023 as Australia's first youth council democratically elected by the young people. It's an initiative that started in Mackay and has since expanded to communities all over Australia.

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting this year's young candidates, and I have to say I was incredibly impressed. Their passion for change, their ingenious ideas and their innovative campaign strategies were outstanding. In fact, some of their campaign ideas were so good, you might see me borrowing a few of them for the next federal election.

One young fellow particularly caught my attention. He was campaigning to stop kids vaping with a clever message about not being fooled by vape flavours, and he even brought along a selection of lollies, encouraging people to choose them instead. These young Australians aren't sitting around waiting for someone else to make a difference.

They are stepping forward. They're speaking up. They're offering real solutions.

Mackay's future is in good hands. As Nate's speech reminds us, the future of Australia really is in the country.