'Information-rich' generation talks politics on parliament benches and online

Queensland youth aspire to make an impact as next generation of politicians In short: A group of remote students are immersing themselves in local government as representatives on their youth council. Meanwhile, 93 state youth members representing districts across Queensland have advocated in parliament about the issues affecting them. What's next? Research shows youth are turning to a wider range of forms of political participation. Not all teenagers find agendas, meetings, bills and speeches interesting, but a group of school students from western Queensland are not waiting until voting age to make a mark on politics. Travelling from their remote region, eight youth councillors have been advocating for their communities as members of the Queensland Youth Parliament sitting in Brisbane this week In her second year on Blackall-Tambo Youth Council, Georgia Duncan, 16, was elected youth mayor by her fellow councillors. Under her leadership, the youth council has already achieved its vision of a new dog park for Blackall, unveiling Bark Park in the Central West Queensland town. "We've all noticed that there's no place to run your dogs without a leash and a lot of tourists have dogs," Georgia said. Aged across grades 6 to 11, the youth councillors serve their region 10 hours west of Brisbane. "We have a meeting every two months … and discuss new ideas we want to see in town," the Blackall State High School student said. The youth council toured Brisbane's Parliament House and Government House this week, an excursion the young leader said would inspire new initiatives for Blackall-Tambo. Blackall-Tambo Mayor Andrew Martin said youth council was an important way to hear from the community. He said his council supported the young politicians through funding, as well as staff and transport to meetings that alternate between the towns of Blackall and Tambo. "What they will have wherever they land is a better perspective on life and they'll be a bigger asset to the community in which they end up residing,"he said. Age not a barrier for youth MP Ava Haine, 19, is also having her voice heard as one of the YMCA Queensland Youth Parliament's 93 members, aged 16 to 25. Hailing from Moura, about 600 kilometres from Brisbane, Ms Haine represents the western Queensland seat of Gregory. "I come from such a lineage of powerful female farmers," she said. "To have a foot in this parliament and be able to speak about their role as more than just a farmer's wife, but as farmers is so important to me." Serving as a youth minister across a range of portfolios, including disaster and volunteering, Ms Haine hopes the Disaster Resilience Corps Youth Bill, tabled in youth parliament this week, could grab the attention of lawmakers in state parliament. "Volunteering in Queensland is down 20 per cent and so we needed a way to incentivise volunteers because we know cost of living is a big thing." Ms Haine said she had been inspired by Queensland's youngest ever state MP Ariana Doolan, who was elected to the seat of Pumicestone in 2024 aged 22. "That is just such a beam of hope that I don't have to wait to get older to participate or have more experience," Ms Haine said. Youth passionate about meaningful input Young and Resilient Research Centre co-director Philippa Collin from the University of Western Sydney said today's youth were switched on to the world around them. "Young people are very interested in being engaged, having a say and trying to shape the issues," Professor Collin said. "And they're pretty open to the different forms in which that can take." She said interest in traditional political institutions had dropped, but young people were highly engaged with issues driven by digital and social media. "We've never had a generation before that is so information-rich, that is as educated and has tools at their disposal to access information but also create it and create those networks." Professor Collin said while youth engagement programs and government advisory councils have increased over the past 15 years, it was critical that participants felt heard. "Young people … are pretty finely tuned to whether or not someone's taking them seriously and whether or not their involvement … is a token rather than a substantial shift in the ways in which we govern," she said.