WHILE young people are often perceived as disinterested in politics, come July 2nd a team of six young women from Wangaratta High School will be debating for legislation of their own design before the Victorian parliament.
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The team, consisting of Simone Kealy, Bethany Hajek, Stephanie Ellett, Hannah Bigg, Thalia Blackney, and Bronwyn Murphy, are partaking in this year’s YMCA Victoria Youth Parliament.
The program sees young people aged between 16 and 25 design a piece of legislation, or bill, on an issue they are passionate about which is tabled before a parliament of their fellow young Victorians, who will then debate and vote on the bill in July.
In its 32-year history, more than 25 pieces of legislation have originated from bills debated in the Youth Parliament.
The Wangaratta team’s bill is ‘Awareness of Plastic Water Bottles Impact’, which aims to foster a change of mindset around the environmental impacts of plastic bottles.
Living in and around Wangaratta, they all share experiences of seeing the natural environment around their town unnecessarily littered with plastic bottles.
Contemplating the potential impacts of their bill, Ms Blackney is adamant that as the second-most populated state in Australia, Victoria must do its part to combat unnecessary waste.
“Plastic bottles are sold everywhere but people just don’t realise the effect that it has and how much can be done,” she said.
The harms of single-use plastic are at the forefront of the teams mind and with Victoria banning single-use plastic bags at major retailers from July 1st, they hope their bill will motivate government and organisations to think further about the use and sale of plastic bottles.
As a group they are all concerned that due to the recent breakdown of many local councils’ recycling arrangements, the environmental impacts of plastic bottles may soon intensify.
The significance of being able to gain real experience in the practicalities of politics is paramount for Ms Bigg.
The program offers an opportunity to have an impact on legislation that impacts young people in Victoria.
“I’ve come into this not knowing much about law, about parliamentary procedures” she said.
“For me it’s all about learning how it works, about how a bill gets made and passed”.
The team is excited at the possibility their bill about plastic bottles could be turned into legislative reality.
Last year’s Wangaratta team pushed for changes to rules around single-use plastic bags, something eventually enacted by the State government, and this year’s team hopes to achieve similar success.
Hugh Shanahan is a member of the YMCA Youth Press Gallery.
