20 • THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2010 THE WEST AUSTRALIAN

Opinion 20

Established 1833 Thursday April 22 2010

Useless. Lazy. Selfish. Spoilt … youname it we Gen Y-ers have heardit used to describe us. Thenegative verbal barrage from thebaby boomers is nothing new,

neither is the negative media attention.When older generations think of Gen Y it

seems they conjure an image of a petulantchild insolently demanding attention, praise,and to have things our way.

But please don’t paint our entiregeneration with the same negativebrushstroke. This naive view of youngpeople and the failure to see the value thatGen Y can bring to the decision-makingtable is hindering Australia’s development;depriving our democracy of diverse opinionsand innovative ideas.

If some of us have reverted toattention-seeking behaviour, it’s onlybecause we’ve not been allowed to partake inthe “adult” conversation of governance forso long that we’re running out of ideas ofhow to make the older generationunderstand that we’ve got something to say.

The Government and corporations preachthe virtues of “youth engagement”. But thisambiguous term seems to lend itself to beinga descriptor of less than engaging practices.

Sporadic policy announcements,unrepresentative advisory committees andthe recent foray by baby boomers into“youth-friendly” social media are not proofof being “in touch” with youth. They’re anattempt (some more valiant than others) buton the whole they’re tokenistic and I don’tthink it’s unreasonable that young peopleare demanding more.

Admittedly, the youth sector has beenthrough leaner times. Under John Howard,funding for the nation’s peak youth bodywas discontinued, enrolment law changesmeant tens of thousands of young peoplemissed the chance to vote in the 2007election and Mr Howard wouldn’t evenconverse with youth; refusing to take part inRove, FM radio or social media.

The Rudd Government definitelydeserves applause for lifting what was anembarrassingly low youth engagement bar.

The development of the Australian YouthForum has enabled more young Australiansto have a say on political “hot topics” viaonline blogs and the Prime Minister istwittering away in as much “youth friendly”lingo as 140 characters will allow him.

One of the most positive youth policydevelopments of the Rudd Government wasthe 2020 Youth and School Summits in 2008.Never before have so many young peoplebeen involved in policy discussions in thisnation. Never before have so many youngpeople felt engaged in the civic process. Theconsultations were empowering and someideas are truly phenomenal.

However, the response (or lack thereof)has proved a huge disappointment. Youngpeople hold out hope that the brilliant ideasthis process produced will not be allowed tofall by the wayside! For a split second duringthe 2020 youth consultation process, youngpeople thought the political rhetoric hadchanged and that Australian politics wasfinally ready to embrace the beginnings of across-generational approach todecision-making … we were wrong.

Our error of judgment was reinforced by aFebruary episode of ABC TV’s Q&Aprogram when Mr Rudd completelyunderestimated the political awareness andintelligence of young Australians. WatchingMr Rudd embarrass himself as he fumbledthrough a “grilling” from Gen Y was proofthat our nation’s decision-makers fail torealise the potential of an invaluable resourcethat this country has in abundance: its

youth. Look at the Australian youthcoalition on climate change, a youth-ledclimate change action group which hasgrown its membership tenfold to 50,000since the start of last year and has involved37,400 young people in its campaigns.

Observe the Youth Digital Culture’s workusing digital arts to combat racism. Byproviding skills development, mentorship,and advocacy through digital technology, ithas given marginalised youth a legitimatechannel to challenge racism and makethemselves heard. Check out the work ofCurtin Volunteers, the biggest student-run,not-for-profit organisation in Australia thatis involved with 54 programs. For more than15 years it has helped local and internationalcommunities in areas as diverse as health,community development and indigenousoutreach projects.

In the past two years we’ve seen legislativeamendments and introductions that affectyoung people: youth Allowance, changes tothe L and P-plate systems, alcopops taxes to“fix” the youth binge-drinking culture andthe introduction of stop and search laws, justto name a few. At a time when there’sarguably never been such a raft of legislationdirectly concerning youth, it is ineffective,naive and short-sighted to legislate withoutadequately consulting us.

The dominance of issues such as climatechange, health-care reform, education andlong-term economic policy developmentshould also prompt a rethink of youthengagement. When an increasing number ofour legislative priorities require a cross-generational approach, it is fundamental forsustainable and innovative decision-makingthat you include us.

As former United Nations head KofiAnnan said, “a society that cuts off from itsyouth severs its lifeline”. I implore leaders atall levels, and across all fields, to help keepAustralia’s lifeline alive by meaningfullyengaging with young people in our nation’sdecision-making process.

Holly Ransom, 20, is a finalist in the 2010Youth Awards in the educate category and

attended the 2020 Summit

Hey, baby boomers, wehave something to sayYoung people need to be included in decision-making, Holly Ransom argues

Token youth focus: Kevin Rudd with TV hostRove McManus.

Tony Abbott managed to grab someattention with his suggestion thatpeople under 30 who are capable ofworking should not get the dole. He’sright at a superficial level in saying

those who are able to work should do so.Unemployment benefits should be no more thana safety net for those unable to find a job.

But the way the idea emerged shows signs ofan Opposition Leader thinking aloud rather thanproposing serious coalition policy.

Mr Abbott pitched the idea informally at ameeting of resources industry leaders in Perththis week as a way of dealing with the expectedshortage of workers as the State’s miningindustry prepares for more boom times.

His audience would have been as aware as anyof the problems a new labour shortage will createin the resources industry and the rest of the WAcommunity. The last boom brought hugedemand for skilled workers in mining andconstruction and an associated labour gap in thehospitality and service industries in Perth andthe South-West as a result of the exodus northfor the lucrative jobs on offer.

Employers will be desperate to avoid a repeatof such a scenario but this sort of labour crisiswill not be solved by attempting to penalise onesection of the community by assuming they areshirking employment. There is already anobligation on unemployed people who receive aNewstart allowance to look for work actively. Ifthey do not accept reasonable offers of work intheir area, they lose their benefits.

According to Mission Australia, 16 per cent ofunder-25s are out of work but many of those arenot in a position to simply shift across thecountry to take a job. Most will take work whenit is offered but the real issue facing the countryis how to provide young people with the skillsthey need to fill the looming vacancies.

The State was caught out by the demand inthe last boom but there is greater urgency aboutgetting young people ready for work now, with abig increase in State-funded training places and aclearer focus on the need for government andindustry to work together on the issue.

Transport planning vitalfor a growing StateThe management of transport infrastructure willbe a key factor in how Perth and WA cope withinevitable population growth. We can afford tocontinue our urban sprawl and the developmentof far-flung regional centres only if there iscohesive planning to ensure people can movewith ease around the city and State.

For this reason, the State Government’screation of a transport supremo role is a welcomemove. Public Transport Authority chief ReeceWaldock will take up the new position nextmonth to oversee operations of the PTA, theTransport Department and Main Roads. Hewould appear well qualified for the job and wellplaced to manage the sometimes competingdemands of the road, rail and port systems.

The only note of caution is in how much MrWaldock will be paid. The Salaries andAllowances Tribunal is expected to recommendan increase in his current package of $370,000,and that is fair given his increasedresponsibilities. But the salary needs to staywithin a realistic realm if the WA public is tohave confidence that the new position does notturn out to be an exercise in empire buildingpresided over by another overpaid bureaucrat.

Abbott missesthe point on‘dole bludgers’