Youth Forum held on June 11th

On Thursday, the 11th of June, 4 others and I had the privilege of attending the 2026 State Youth Forum at Park Proxi Gibraltar. We arrived at 9:30 and spent most of the day watching an inter-school public speaking competition run by the  state government members. Edmund Hunt represented us well in this competition with students across the region of a very high calibre, judged by Ms Judy Hannan MP and the Hon. Ben Franklin MLC.

The Youth Forum itself started at 4 pm, and in advance, students had the opportunity to request topics for the agenda. We rotated through several issues, including, but not limited to, lowering the voting age to 16, climate change and the environment, the cost-of-living crisis, the housing crisis, and AI in the workplace and youth unemployment. Morning and afternoon tea were provided. The NSW government has been running roadshows all around rural and regional NSW since 2024, to provide a voice in the state parliament for youth who aren’t just located in urban areas. The roadshows and forums have been a raging success, and I and 4 other Year 10 students and I were lucky enough to be selected to attend.  

The atmosphere of the gathering was very open and easygoing. No one was afraid to speak or ask questions, and the members of parliament present were very open. The youth doesn’t often get . a lot of representation in government areas, which is why forums and roadshows like this are important. The forum and the voices of the youth there were transcribed and will be brought to the state government at a later date for discussion. Ultimately, it was a great experience, and I strongly encourage others to get involved next year! 

Amelie L, Year 10