STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Ms PAYNE (Canberra) (16:04): Raise Our Voice is a fantastic campaign that invites young people to submit a speech to their MP. Today I want to give a speech on behalf of Olive, the 15-year-old winner from my electorate, who is here in the gallery today. Olive said: Everywhere I look, our education system treats knowledge as a race.

It seems letters on a page are valued more than the learning itself. My friends and peers, each brilliant in their own way, seem to be constantly discussing our next assessment. But I only wish they could enjoy the learning.

It tears me apart to hear them say "You don't understand Olive; I just don't have a maths brain," or "I'm just too dumb for this." The system teaches us to be terrified of challenges because a test is always coming. Yet, challenges spark intellectual curiosity. We must give students a place to face them without the fear of failing.

Education is more than just information transfer. The information follows naturally once a student cares. I ask Parliament to take meaningful action.

The federal government should work with states to reduce administrative testing requirements so teachers have more time to teach. Additionally, we should reduce competitive testing and instead allow students to pursue self-directed, curiosity-led projects during school hours. We should place value on creative problem-solving and portfolios alongside traditional exams.

I wish the system would remember that we're all learning together. At the end of the day, the learning done matters more than the fact that we measured it. Congratulations again, Olive, on your very thoughtful speech and to the Raise Our Voice campaign for giving voice to young people across the country.