CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS

Mr DAVID SMITH (Bean—Government Whip) (16:19): This speech comes from Matilda from Bean: My name is Matilda, I am 13 years of age, and I am proud to have two parents that both work in the trades. I have had the opportunity to watch my parents build a bright future for me and my little sister. Despite that, our family has received discrimination because my parents wear hi-vis for a living.

There is still a held belief that a person from a blue-collar industry is somehow un-educated or is of less value than someone that attended university. It is often drilled into young people that university is the only option to choose for a good career path. I know this is not true.

My father lays bricks, working tirelessly to construct the buildings that we use every day, like this great house my speech is being heard in. He has helped build schools, rec-centres, hospitals, and homes for families. My mother works as a high voltage electrician, in an industry that is building green infrastructure; like big batteries, wind farms, and solar energy, all of which will help make this planet a healthier place.

Both my parents have jobs that can be done from anywhere, allowing us the freedom to explore and live in different places. Neither have student debt, and both earned a wage while they got their education, enabling them to move into their industries debt free. I believe that greater information needs to be given at younger ages that university is not always the best option for a bright future.

This needs to be encouraged in school aged children so that we meet the skills shortage that we face in my generation. Lili, also from Bean, highlights the importance of mental health: My name is Lili. In Australia today, 1 in 7 children aged 4-17 experience a mental health disorder every year.

If that's happening in our classrooms, how can we act on it? I know how this feels because I've felt and seen this before, the terrible feeling of feeling lonely and helpless. Shouldn't every school in Australia have equal access to mental health support.

Right now, only half of schools have regular access to a psychologist. The government must expand programs like Be You. If this program was fully funded and strengthened, every school could receive proper mental health training, resources, and support.

Government should also fund wellbeing kits with mindfulness cards, stress relief tools, and wellbeing journals. I would definitely use them! I believe that all of you have seen a child suffering quietly in the dark, perhaps that child was you, recall that exact feeling, that feeling is what we are trying to prevent.

Thank you, Lili and Matilda, for both raising your voices. Our government is listening and acting and agrees that these are priorities that all governments should be concerned with.