CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS

Ms TEESDALE (Bass) (16:49): Through Raise Our Voice, I'm pleased to share the words of two young people of Bass here in parliament. Firstly, a speech by 11-year-old Eva. These are Eva's words: Every place has a story and every person has one too.

My name is Eva and growing up in Northern Tasmania has taught me the value of resilience and appreciating the world around us. I'm not actually interested in changing the world, I'm interested in changing minds. People can talk in rooms like parliament all they like, but it is the people outside that make the change.

This is why I feel it is so important for Australia's new generation of thought-provoking conversations and ideas to be heard all over the country. I believe that by providing older children and young Australians with the opportunity to contribute to federal political decisions would strengthen Australia's democracy. What if junior voices could come together as one just by asking the question "what if"?

By creating a round table discussion group that politicians can understand young minds through the voice of representatives from each state and territory. That means that politicians can realise what problems are needing to be solved in local communities that are and will be having many influences on our future. Sooner or later, we will be the new voice of Australia, so it is imperative that politicians educate young Australians on the true values of our country.

Isn't it … amazing what one thought of "what if" can change the outlook that people can have on our world. I look forward to sharing about our youth advisory councils with Eva, and I hope that, when she's old enough, she'll nominate to join as an adviser in just a few years. Today, through Raise Our Voice, I'm pleased to share a speech by 14-year-old Lola.

These are Lola's words: Feminism. Mistaken for the hatred of inequality, when truly, this is equality. Feminism is defined by the belief that all should be equal, man, woman, nonbinary, etc.

Today, women experience hell, 1 in 20 women have experienced sexual violence from a male friend or housemate, 1 in 5 women have been raped. That could be you, if no-one strives to create a difference, to create equality. How can we, as a country, create equality in Australia?

We lack equality in areas of healthcare, economic equality, workforces, everyday life, representation and safety. The healthcare and demand for women's health are declining; we need to recognise this. Although the fair pay laws, women still face difficulty in reaching actual equality in the workplace, lacking in fair pay, underrepresentation in leadership and the undervaluing of women's work.

Especially for women who are LGBTQIA+, racially diverse and/or disabled. When will we, as a society, achieve true equality? Just because it seems like women have equal rights, that is not the case.

Only 14 countries have … equal rights between men and women, why don't we make it 15? We can't change the world, but together, we can change our country.