Call for young people to be considered as an election issue

Get Engaged

(Empowering Newcastle Young People)

Source: The Newcastle Youth Council

Newcastle City Youth Council urged candidates for the federal seat of Newcastle to engage with their young constituents by announcing their responses to the many issues important to local young people.

Newcastle Youth Mayor, Mitchell Wall highlighted the fact that, young people aged 12-24 make up 13.6% of the population of Newcastle but are often characterised as being disengaged and uninformed. In response to this, a dedicated web site “Get Engaged” (www.GetEngaged07.com) has been created to address this apparent need.

This project brought together the youth policies of each of the federal candidates for the seat of Newcastle so that young people and those interested in the rights of young people, are now able to make a better informed choice come Election Day. This initiative asked each candidate to respond to the question: How will you implement your policies in the interests of Newcastle Young People?

Mitchell Wall said, “I urge all young people to access this site and consider the ramifications of each candidate’s policies in relation to local young people so that they can be well informed before Election Day on the 24th November”. Mr Wall further stated, “It is not surprising that young people might become disengaged, if their concerns are rarely on the agenda. With the abolition of the federal portfolio for
young people in 2004 and the lack of funding for a national youth peak body since 1999, it has become almost impossible for young people to get their issues across.”

“This election has seen young people increasingly becoming an election issue as parties begin to understand their potential voting power and how uncommitted they are as new voters.”