The Scoop August 2015 by YACSA

The Scoop Newsletter August 2015

Welcome to our new monthly newsletter for young people! At the request of our young members, we have launched this monthly newsletter for young people, just in time to celebrate International Youth Day (August 12). We’ve got a special report on this year’s theme of civic engagement on page 5, as well as a copy of the letter that the national, state and territory peaks have sent to Minister for Education and Training, Christopher Pyne on page 6. Also in this edition is a look at the Graduated Licensing Scheme (GLS) one year after it was introduced, including opinions from young people that have been affected by the new laws. Flip to page 3 to check that out. As well as those features, we’ve included an update of what YACSA has been working on, a look at the Hansard transcripts over Estimates week and a spotlight on volunteering from one of our young members. As this is the first issue of this newsletter, we’re very keen to hear your comments and feedback. We’re open to any and all opinions as everything is up for grabs – from the types of content we include to the newsletter name!

contents Welcome

YACSA Update

Graduated Licensing Scheme

International Youth Day

Get Your Civic Engagement On

Youth Peak Media Release

Voluntary Effort

Handy Hansard

Opportunities

Please do get in touch with us at yacsa@yacsa.com.au to let us know your thoughts and suggestions for future issues, or if you’d like to contribute an item.

The Scoop August 2015

YACSA Update We’ve been talking to our young members about what YACSA could do to support more active involvement in our work and meaningful participation in civil and political life, in light of cuts to federal and state youth engagement activity. Young members are already well represented on our policy council and board and participate in our consultations and events, but we were keen to explore how we could do better with both existing and new opportunities. We’re currently exploring – and will continue to consult more broadly on – the excellent suggestions that we’ve received. We will let you know where that’s going in the next edition. We’ve been preparing a response to the Youth Justice Administration Bill Exposure Draft which is the legislation that sets out how custodial and community based justice orders are supervised. It also outlines the powers and functions of the responsible minister, chief executive, and departmental staff. The response is due by 21 August and it’ll be published on our website. The federal budget was released in May and we published a summary of the bits that are relevant on our Young People and the Federal Budget campaign hub not long after, but some detailed digging uncovered additional cuts to the youth engagement budget, including National Youth Week. The Australian government will give some money to states and territories to run local National Youth Week activities but there is no budget for NYW beyond 30 June 2017. In June, we also saw a state budget that demonstrated a major focus on tax cuts and infrastructure spend, designed to stimulate the economy and provide much needed jobs for SA. However, we couldn’t help but notice the lack of youth focused policies and strategies to specifically tackle health, housing, income and employment related issues for young people across the state. And finally, keep an eye out for a member satisfaction survey which will be released later this week. Of course, you’re welcome to let us know your thoughts any time at yacsa@yacsa.com.au. Cheers, Anne Bainbridge YACSA ED

The Scoop August 2015

Graduated Licensing Scheme (GLS) One Year On It’s now been 12 months since the introduction of the Graduated Licensing Scheme (GLS) in South Australia. The scheme introduced passenger restrictions and a midnight to 5am curfew for P1 drivers under the age of 25. Police are reporting that since the introduction of the GLS they have fined 357 P-plate drivers for breaching the curfew and fined 96 drivers for carrying more than one passenger. The government-run website ‘My License’ acknowledges that it is too soon to have sufficient “crash data for an evaluation of the GLS changes”. They estimate that an evaluation will take place in several years time. YACSA is still of the opinion that these regulations unfairly discriminate against young drivers, causing unnecessary inconvenience and punishing people based on their age rather than poor driving. We asked young people for their experiences with the GLS and heard that many people have been inconvenienced by the laws.

“You can’t always predict if something unexpected will keep you out on the roads past midnight, and it seems unreasonable to expect us always to plan for that ...” Several people commented that the GLS interferes with the concept of a ‘designated driver’, as those on their P1s (who legally must have a blood alcohol level of zero) can only take one passenger. Concerns around safety were also raised as the curfew meant that sometimes people were not able to be driven all the way home and could potentially lead to unnecessary risks to get home before midnight.

“Introducing these restrictions impacts only on those drivers already doing the right thing.” One woman noted that the state government had not introduced additional public transport services to compensate for the restrictions. Another took

Image source: http://www.mylicence.sa.gov.au/gls/home

IF YOU’RE CAUGHT:

$335 fine

(+ $60 Victims of Crime Levy)

3 demerit points issue with the fact that young P-platers still have to pay full registration for their cars, despite not being able to drive them for part of the day. Overwhelmingly, the response that we have had from young people has been one of inconvenience and feeling discriminated against based on their age.

“It unfairly paints all young people as risk takers when the reality is that young people are as diverse as adults are diverse.” The Scoop August 2015

Gosh, I just love being civically engaged! International Youth Day August 12 This International Youth Day, we want you to start a conversation with your friends and family around the theme of civic engagement. Here are some questions to get you started:

Civic engagement to me is the way that our young people can get involved and participate in a variety of different ways that allow their voices to be heard and listened to by our government agencies.

How would you describe civic engagement?

@KaneloPitso

In what ways do you participate in your community?

You get young people active in politics by creating attractive platforms for them to engage in

What do you think governments can do to ensure that young people are included in decisions that affect the community?

@TheGovernance12 @THECiciBattle Young girls are the key to improving societies. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s proven - if you educate a girl, you educate her community

Funding and political will is hindering youth participation in all sectors. They can do more with leadership support

Attend public events to get more ideas and follow the news.

The Scoop August 2015

Become a member of the Youth Advisory Committee at your local Council. It gives young people the opportunity to have a voice and discuss local issues, consult with other young people and provide advice to Council on issues that impact on young people

Get Your Civic Engagement On

— Alana James

Happy International Youth Day! This year’s theme is ‘Youth Civic Engagement’. What’s that? Well, it’s super important but we understand if the term ‘civic engagement’ doesn’t have you bursting with excitement. Civic engagement is about you being active and involved in your community and having the freedom and right to express your views. It’s about you having a say on issues that affect you and things that you care about. Good stuff, right? With almost 1 in 5 people in Australia classified as ‘youth’, we think it’s pretty damn important that young people have a say. Young people play an important and powerful role in society and just like the rest of the population, young Australians have a diverse range of ideas, opinions and life experiences. Here are six ways to get your civic engagement on:

... WITH YOUR COMMUNITY

... AS AN INDIVIDUAL

1 2 3 4 5 6

Check out YACSA’s democracy guide and advocacy toolkit to learn more about civic engagement. Get blogging on an issue that’s important to you. Write a letter to the editor in your local newspaper. Vote at the next election (and make sure others are registered to vote too). Call your local MP (Member of Parliament) to let them know which issues you care about. Join an advocacy group or start your own!

1 2 3 4 5 6

Organise a public event (speaking forums, peaceful protests, town hall meetings, concerts and fundraisers) to raise awareness about important issues. Get together to talk about what you want to happen in your community. Start a petition and gather support for your issue. Meet with your local MP (Member of Parliament) to discuss an important issue. Set up a table at public events to provide information on your issue of concern. Get together and write letters to your local politician about a key issue.

... AS AN ORGANISATION (pass this along to your boss!)

1 2 3 4 5 6

Hold an event. Start an advocacy campaign (social media, in person etc). Organise to go doorknocking to find out what people think on certain issues – let this inform your organisational policy. Start a petition and gather support for important issues. Give your staff media training and try to get media coverage of your issue. Write a submission to a governmental inquiry about an issue that affects your organisation.

The Scoop August 2015

Excerpt from youth peaks media release It’s International Youth Day: time for the government to make a fresh start with young Australians. Australia’s national, state and territory youth peak bodies have today written to the Federal Minister for Education and Training, Christopher Pyne, to voice grave concerns about the Australian Government’s attitude towards young people. The youth peaks have asked Minister Pyne to make a fresh start with young Australians by beginning a process of meaningful youth consultation. The peaks have invited the Minister to meet with a group of young representatives in Canberra on Wednesday 14 October, to hear their ideas about how the government can better include and involve young people. “Times are tough for young Australians. They’re likely to be the first generation with lower standards of living than their parents,” said youth peaks’ spokesperson, Leo Fieldgrass. “Current government policies are taking us on a dangerous path – they’re excluding and alienating the generation we expect to support our ageing population. Politicians need to step up now and show young people that society values them”. “If young people feel heard by government it will be good for everyone”, said Mr Fieldgrass. “Research shows that involving young people in policy-making increases social cohesion and economic prosperity. We know that young Australians have fresh ideas and energy to offer. Young people want to help tackle the social problems we face together”. A copy of the letter is included opposite and we would encourage you to use it as a template to write your own letter to Minister Pyne, or sign this Change.org petition. You can also join in on social media with the #YouthDay campaign and let us know how you are engagaed in your community.

The Scoop August 2015

Hon Christopher Pyne MP, Minister for Education and Training PO Box 6022 House of Representatives Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 CC The Hon Tony Abbott MP, Prime Minister CC Senator the Hon Scott Ryan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education and Training 12 August 2015

Dear Minister Pyne, Will you use International Youth Day to make a fresh start with youth Australians? Today is UNESCO International Youth Day. Countries around the world are celebrating young people’s role in civic decision-making. But young Australians currently have little to cheer. Because your government has removed all official ways to hear, work with or recognise young Australians. The Abbott Government has: • • • • •

no Minister for Youth or dedicated youth portfolio; stopped funding the national youth peak body, the Australian Youth Affairs Coalition; ended the Australian Youth Forum; cancelled the National Youth Awards; ended Commonwealth National Youth Week activities and will stop all National Youth Week funding in two years’ time.

Moreover, the Abbott Government continues to pursue punitive plans to deny young people under 25 income support for four weeks. These unfairly harsh measures are likely to push more young people into hardship or homelessness. As Australia’s national, state and territory youth peak bodies, we represent over 4.3 million young people aged 12 to 25 and the hundreds of thousands of people and organisations that support them. We are gravely concerned about the Abbott government’s attitudes towards and lack of engagement with young people. Today’s young Australians are likely to be the first generation with lower standards of living than their parents. Housing and education costs are at record highs. Inequality in Australia is widening. At times like this, it’s vital that young people feel connected to our society and to the government that serves them. In May 2014 – over a year ago – your Parliamentary Secretary, Senator Scott Ryan, said the Abbott government was planning a “focused and targeted approach” to consult with young people. Such consultation hasn’t yet happened. Recent cuts to your department’s youth engagement budget show no money allocated for it to happen. We call on you to use International Youth Day to make a fresh start with young Australians. Please accept our invitation to meet with a group of young people representing the youth peaks, at 12.00pm on Wednesday 14 October, at the Youth Coalition of the ACT, 46 Clianthus St, O’Connor, Canberra, ACT 2602. Between us, the youth peaks have over 200 years of expertise in youth consultation. Let us help you to hear young people’s ideas for how you can better include them. We look forward to your reply. Please contact Leo Fieldgrass, National Director, Australian Youth Affairs Coalition, on 0450 427584 or leo@ayac.org.au to discuss this invitation further. Katie Acheson, Managing Director, Youth Action NSW Anne Bainbridge, EO, Youth Affairs Council of South Australia Craig Comrie, CEO, Youth Affairs Council of Western Australia Siyavash Doostkhah, Director, Youth Affairs Network Queensland Georgie Ferrari, Youth Affairs Council of Victoria Leo Fieldgrass, National Director, Australian Youth Affairs Coalition Emma Robertson, Director, Youth Coalition of the ACT Joanna Siejka, CEO, Youth Network of Tasmania

The Scoop August 2015

Voluntary Effort

— Sarah Jean Nelson

I first volunteered at 11 years old, joining the District Council of Grant YAC, in order to deliver presentations on bike safety to students. Looking back, I feel sorry for those 16 and 17 year olds having to sit through an overzealous 11 year old handing out helmets and demanding they wear them, but things have gotten better since then. (I hope!) In a decade, volunteering has given me a lot, both good and bad. If you’re connected with YACSA, I’m going to assume you, like me, are passionate about the importance of young people being empowered, supported and involved. I don’t want to lecture you on the benefits, but instead I’ll share a few bits of my story as a volunteer. My interest in mental health streamlined in high school. In my rural town at that time, the waitlist for a young person aged 6-18 to see a counsellor was a year long. That year we had lost six teenagers to suicide, and that’s just the ones that were reported. An opportunity popped up to work with an e-mental health service based in Sydney to advocate on mental health related issues, and I jumped on it. Seven volunteers were flown from across Australia to be part of the advocacy team and the small office made us feel incredibly special. The organisation gave us extensive training in advocacy, delivered by prominent figures in media and politics. It gave us a chance to learn and connect. Armed with our new skills, we sat down to scope out exactly what we wanted to see change and why we were so passionate.

It was one of the first times that I remember being not only asked what I needed, but empowered to make it happen. Training was the easy, blocked out time – and afterwards was the struggling to make time. Within a year though, this team made a huge difference. We rolled out media responding to current events and put out the word about helplines, support networks, and self help tips. We got in contact with politicians and sat down with many of them, who then took speeches on our behalf to Parliament (yeaaahhh Hansard). Clearly they were a little infected by our passion, because

The Scoop August 2015

they did make things happen that year. We also arranged a national live chat with an influential politician, which was really super fun, giving the voice back to the public. The second time I visited the office, not only did every staff member know my name AND what I’d been working on, but I noticed some of my newspaper articles on the staff fridge.

This team took on meaningful youth participation and gave us the trust, respect and freedom to act on it. They were on call whenever I needed them – including when a national news station rocked up without warning to my school to talk to me about that morning’s budget and the effects on youth mental health. Cue panicked 16 year old Sarah calling every contact I had, asking what a budget was and if I could have a summary – thanks for not laughing! As the organisation expanded, our advocacy team was let go in order for new projects to happen, but despite this, I don’t think I would have volunteered for so long if this initial experience had not been so overwhelmingly positive. After about six years in the mental health sector (in ground support and crisis counselling as well as advocacy), I started to realise that compassion fatigue was truly a ‘thing’. Unlike my first experience, not all campaigns had results, or at least not results that were easy to see. I was tired of awareness campaigns for services that were still not timely or adequate or available. I was tired of the rising suicide rates and started to feel like each report was a personal attack. I was tired of seeing budget cuts, brilliant organisations being closed down, beds being taken away. I was frustrated with the system and it was hard to pour effort into what seemed to be a never-ending hole. Volunteering takes a toll on you, no matter which stream you work in. I am thankful for the youth volunteer network within South Australia. Volunteering can sometimes make you feel very ‘me vs the world’, although the truth is that’s never the case. While my sector had cutbacks, others were flourishing, or responding to cuts in overwhelmingly positive ways. Friends were taking leaps in LGBTQI rights,

creating awareness and support for asylum seekers, rescuing animals that nobody thought stood a chance, and making a real difference to young people experiencing homelessness. Most importantly, I was never without somebody who would pick up the phone and understand exactly what these setbacks felt like – because sadly, in any sector, there will be setbacks. I guess my point is, volunteering isn’t free. It’s not just the time that it takes, but the emotional toll, the exhaustion and stress that it brings. For somebody to invest their heart into something enough to make reading policy, newspapers (never read the comment section), terms of reference and legislation worth it, to invest in reaching out to people in often dire situations, to collect voices and take them to a table … you need to know that it means something.

Anything that makes you passionate enough to work for free will hold you emotionally to it. In some organisations you get to see change happen. In others, your voice often feels unnoticed and an email of thanks can make all the difference. Just because you volunteer, doesn’t mean you don’t have the right to pick and choose your opportunities or your organisation. You can always walk away if you feel undervalued. Unfortunately, there are some who still only use young people as checkbox tokenism. They offer the incentive of ‘it looks good on a resume’ or ‘free lunch’ to lure in young people. Obviously, we all love a free lunch, but it depends what you’re being asked to do. If they want you to be a part of a long term project and are only offering you resume experience, it’s not volunteering, it’s exploitation. No volunteer that I know is looking for those things anyway. All we want is to know that the work we will do will be meaningful, valued and appreciated. We want to know that if we give you our voice, that you will listen to it, and take it on board. Volunteering should be a fulfilling and uplifting experience that will connect you to beautiful and passionate people. I am so thankful that for the most part it still is, and I hope that you find the same thing.

Handy Hansard Hansard is the official report of the debates and proceedings of the SA parliament. We like it because we can see who’s been saying what about youth affairs and young people. You can access it yourself and search for terms, but we look at it regularly so we will provide a snapshot for you in this section of the newsletter. In July, “estimates committees” met in parliament – estimates committees happen annually for the purpose of examining the Appropriation Bill (the budget). It’s essentially an opportunity for lower house members of the Opposition to ask government ministers questions about their departmental budgets and activities. Hon Zoe Bettison MP, Minister for Youth, was asked a number of questions about Office for Youth programs and the following is a summary of items that may be of interest. If you’re keen to read the whole report, you can access it here.

From the minister’s opening statement: The Office for Youth has an important role in supporting our government’s efforts with young people. This is principally a strategic and policy role, including through youth sector support and advocacy, and events which promote and celebrate the contribution of young people. The conclusion of the 2010-14 youth strategy has provided the opportunity to review the strategic direction of the youth portfolio. This year I released new youth strategy, It Starts With YOUth, which takes a new approach with key issues being identified and responded to on an annual basis.

Each year a working group will be established to apply a concentrated focus to understanding and responding to the identified issues. The working group will be comprised of representatives from relevant sectors, including external to government. In 2015 the area of focus is homelessness, a significant issue for young South Australians and a key priority for this government.

Rachel Sanderson MP, Shadow Minister for Youth, asked if the Minister’s Youth Council had been assessed or evaluated prior to its axing and here’s the response: The Minister’s Youth Council meetings were discontinued after its meeting in July 2014 as part of the government’s reform of boards and committees. This review identified that there were more contemporary and effective ways of engaging with young people and hearing from them about issues that matter to them. The review found that the council was not the best way to engage with young people. Modern engagement strategies, including the use of social media and online tools, will enable broader and deeper consultation and engagement with young people. Youth engagement is a key focus of the 2015 It Starts with YOUth strategy. As part of the strategy, the Office for Youth is currently developing a youth engagement strategy that assists government agencies in engaging with young people.

Our government is committed to engage with young people, ensuring that their views are listened to, captured and acted upon. In order to facilitate new and creative methods of engaging with young people across South Australia, I have asked the Office for Youth to lead the development of a new model of youth engagement in partnership with the youth sector. The youth engagement steering group has been established to focus on building community engagement with young people and to provide advice on methods and tools that are most effective when engaging with young people. The advice of the steering group will influence the development of a guide to assist government agencies in effective youth engagement.

And finally, the Minister had this to say about National Youth Week: “….in 2014-15 we funded 49 organisations, including the state launch. There were 105 events, 1,200 young people involved in the planning of these events and activities, and 11,320 people who attended the events through National Youth Week.”

The Scoop August 2015

Opportunities

Are you male, aged between 18 and 25 years when you engaged in counselling & when you were living in the suburbs of Adelaide and prepared to talk about your counselling experience? Matthew Doherty wants to hear your story for his post-graduate research. Reach him at Mdohert7@une.edu.au or on 0401 459 995.

JOINWE’LLASHOWBAND YOU HOW AGES 12-25

OPENING NIGHT WEDNESDAY - AUGUST 5 FEATURING

THE CHASE PERFORMING LIVE + Q AND A

5 pm - 8 PM THE STATION

3 RAILWAY TERRACE, MURRAY BRIDGE @BANDCONN

8539 1157

ALEX@STUCKONREPEAT.COM.au

Have you ever wanted to be part of creating a magazine? Here is your chance! headspace Mildura, combined with Mildura Living Magazine, are in the process of putting together a Mildura magazine, which will be created and produced by young people, for young people.

Have you had an experience within the last 24 months of CAMHS, Second Story, Shopfront (now MY HEALTH) or the Women’s &

They are looking for expressions of interest from

Children’s Hospital?

local people aged between 12 and 25 for writing, photography, modelling/make up, graphic design,

The Women’s & Children’s Health Network are currently recruiting

artwork, advertising. Basic training in each of these

people aged 15-25 to be part of a very unique Youth Committee,

areas is available as well to help hone your skills.

whose focus is purely on health and better health outcomes for young people in South Australia.

Please call headspace Mildura manager Larni Baird on 5021 2400, or email Community Awareness and

For more information, contact Allan Ball at Health.WCHNConsum-

Engagement Officer Mitch Rodd on mitch.rodd@

erEngagement@health.sa.gov.au or on 8161 6935.

headspacemildura.com.au.

10The Scoop August 2015

Do you want to see your opportunity for young people here, or do you have an idea for content you’d like to see in The Scoop? Get in touch with us at yacsa@yacsa.com.au.