Youth Consultation

Great News in Tasmania with
the formation of a Childrens Charter
to give young Tasmanians a voice
in Local or State Government.

Just because a person is under 18
and therefore not on the electoral roll,
does not mean they have do not have an
opinion or an interest in their community.

I shall work for a proper consultation with
Launceston youth on issues,whether they be a
"traditional" youth concern or a general one.

Who is to say what is a youth issue,or
indeed a women's issue?

Are youth only concerned about skateboards
and school,while women are only concerned
about baby changing facilities?

Of course not,that would be the same as
suggesting that men are only concerned
about the price of beer ,cars or football.

Community issues are just that issues of
concern to a population.



Youth Representative
at the table

A mechanism should be developed which
would enable Launceston Youth to be
sitting at the Council Table and voting
on all issues as equals with the other
Aldermen.

At times some issues are complex which the
older Aldermen have difficulty understanding,
Youth have the capacity to grasp the implications
of voting for a particular recommendation in the
same way as the other Aldermen if they are given
the same briefings on the item.

This Youth Representative would not be a token
position on Council their role would be as a fully functioning member of Council.


How to elect the Youth Representative:

Having made the commitment to create a Youth
position,advice would be obtained from the
Electoral Office.

Options to be considered:

(a)The formation of a special
Youth Electoral Roll,so that Youth could elect
one of their own.

(b)A separate ballot to be held simultaneously
with the ballot for councillors,mayor and
deputy mayor,
All electors of the municipality would be given
the opportunity to vote for the
Youth Representative or Representatives.

The number of Aldermen would increase to include
the Youth Representative or Representatives.

Once this innovative plan to include
Youth in Local Government is in place and proved
to be effective,I shall make recommendations
to the Tasmanian and Federal Governments to
include similar opportunities for Youth.

It is pleasing to learn
of the Northern Midlands
Council consultation voters
on possible sites for a
skateboard park.

2 local children have joined
a subcommittee of the
Northern Midlands Council to
work through solutions to the
lack of skating facilities in
the Northern Midlands.

The youngsters aged 10 recently
wrote to the council because it
is difficult to get to Launceston
to go and skate.

This sort of consultation is what
Launceston City Council does not
undertake,if elected I certainly
will be pushing for reforms in this
area.

Foundation for Young Australians

YSPACE: International Youth & Public Space Network People (especially young people) are invited to visit www.yspace.net and give their opinions, comments questions regarding public space issues facing young people. Currently there is a forum relating to police Move On Powers. Youth are free to respond to any entries, make their own contribution, or just leave a small note, whatever they feel comfortable with. There is also information on the introduction of confiscation laws in the Maroochy Shire as of Thursday 1st Feb 2001. These laws relate to the confiscation of bicycles, scooters and skateboards. For more information or to have your say about the validity of such laws, visit www.yspace.net c.skelly@student.qut.edu.au

ABC LINK UP See following article for details of this link

Communiqué from the

New National Youth Peak Organisation

On May 4th & 5th 2001, all the State youth peak bodies from across the country,as well as major national youth organisations met in Melbourne to discuss the
establishment of a new national youth affairs peak body.

The two-day meeting was very successful as it set in train the development of a new national peak body for youth affairs. Since the defunding of the Australian
Youth Policy & Action Coalition (AYPAC) in 1998, and despite a lack of resources,the youth affairs sector has maintained strong networks in order to keep youth affairs on the national agenda.

The new national peak body will be made up of a broad-based membership of community sector organisations who work with and for the interests of young people.

As a group we are committed to establishing a strong representative voice at national level for all young people.

We invite all people interested in the issues that affect young people's lives to become members of the new peak body, to ensure that young people have the opportunity to have their voices heard.

We call upon the Federal Government to recognise the value of an organised representative voice and fund this organisation in line with their commitment to
govern for all Australians.

The group will be meeting again in August 2001 to formally establish the new peak body.

CONTACT : Bernice Smith, Phone (07) 3844 7713 (member of the National Youth Affairs
Network)

Alan Wu.a 17-year old,
living in Brisbane recently reported
on his latest project:

For the past year, Alan been working
with the ABC as part of their Link Up
project
(http://www.abc.net.au/children/linkup/).

Spinning off from LINKUP is an organisation
called Wellspring, which aims to produce
educational internet-based projects to
foster a culture of participative democracy
among young Australians.

The Wellspring concept is currently looking
for other young Australians outside of the
Link Up team to get involved.

Information on Wellspring and a request and
application form to join the project

http://www.eworks.asn.au/wellspring/.

Applications close February 23rd.

Wellspring is looking for 5 enthusiastic
young Australian volunteers aged 14-20 to
be part of the Wellspring Development
Committee will work in consultation with
Wellspring's Adult Advisory Board, to help
build the infrastructure and develop the
direction of Wellspring, leading up to its
launch in early April, 2001. Specifically,
the Development Committee will be required to:
* develop a legal and financial structure
* develop a website and informational material
* secure sponsorship
* secure media attention and involve youth
communities
* research, develop and launch Wellspring's
first initiative, dealing with ethical
consumerism

A broad range of young people interested in producing internet-based educational projects are being sought.