Australian Greens Youth spokesperson, and Australia’s youngest Senator, Jordon Steele-John has called for greater engagement with young people to help shape our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Today is International Youth Day and the theme for 2020 is Youth Engagement for Global Action, which seeks to highlight the need for greater engagement with young people to enhance formal institutional politics and process at the local, national and global level.
“This International Youth Day the future has never looked more challenging for young people,” Senate Steele-John said.
“As a result there has never been a better time or a more urgent need to listen to, and engage, with young people than the crossroads we now find ourselves at.
“We must take urgent action on Climate Change within the next decade or it will be my generation, and the generations after mine, that will pay the heaviest price in terms of global heating, mass extinction and resource pressures globally.
“Unemployment is higher than it’s ever been, the workforce is becoming increasingly casualised and long term cuts to the tertiary education sector mean that job prospects for young people are bleak.
“This dual economic and climate crises has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and it is young people who are feeling it the hardest.
“It’s clear from the lack of action on climate change, sustained political attacks from those in power on funding for, and access to, our tertiary institutions, and the fact that work has never been more insecure that only the Greens care about creating a future for all of us!”
The Greens’ plan to empower young people:
- Reinstate funding for National Youth Week;
- Reinstate funding for the national youth peak body;
- Reestablish a Federal Minister for Youth (independent of Sport)
- Give 16 and 17 year olds the right to vote; and
- Implement a Youth Jobs guarantee to help young people to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.