MEREWETHER High students Zoë Davis and Aidan Bottom are taking their passion for politics all the way to NSW State Parliament.
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The students are participating in YMCA NSW's Youth Parliament and have helped to develop policies and write bills that they will debate in Parliament House in Sydney next week.
Year 12 student and school captain Zoë, 17, is the shadow education minister. Year 10 student Aidan, 16, is shadow transport minister.
"It just seemed to be this fantastic opportunity where you could actually have the chance to make a tangible difference," Zoë said.
"As someone who has been trying to do that in my school environment, having the chance to do that on a literal statewide level just sounded too exciting to miss."
Zoë said she doesn't remember "making a distinct choice to be interested in politics" but came from a family interested in helping other people.
Her aunties and her grandfather are involved in Darwin Asylum Seeker Support and Advocacy Network.
She is also interested in making the education system more equitable and addressing youth mental health.
"Understanding that politicians do value our voice and that we can actually make a change just means that we have the capacity to start thinking about 'What change would I like to see?' and that leads you down all these other roads."
Aidan said he had heard from friends and family members about how valuable an experience Youth Parliament was.
His family has been involved in politics in Cooma and Maitland and he said he was particularly interested in tackling climate change.
"I like to make things better for people and I like to correct wrongs where they should be rights," he said.
"I find the political process so fascinating and how democracy and a person's voice can have so much influence."
Zoë and Aidan met with the other students on their committees last school holidays and debated what their bills should be.
Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp said he was "very impressed" with Zoë's three part bill, to make learning a foreign language from kindergarten to year 10 compulsory; redefining the English syllabus for high schools and introducing annual workshops on Indigenous culture and racial discrimination.
Charlestown MP Jodie Harrison labelled Aidan's bill as "visionary", which includes decentralising Sydney's transport network and making Penrith and Parramatta railway stations into hubs; building a brand new train line from Wollongong via Western Sydney to Newcastle; and ensuring for every dollar spent on Sydney infrastructure projects 50 cents is spent on regional NSW projects.
The Youth Parliament opening ceremony will be held on July 15.
Helen Gregory
Helen Gregory joined the Newcastle Herald in 2010. She is the masthead’s education reporter and has written for the H2 and Weekender sections, as well as across a range of issues. Helen is a Walkley Award winning journalist and was also part of the Newcastle Herald team that won the United Nations World Environment Day Media Award for Environmental Reporting.
Helen Gregory joined the Newcastle Herald in 2010. She is the masthead’s education reporter and has written for the H2 and Weekender sections, as well as across a range of issues. Helen is a Walkley Award winning journalist and was also part of the Newcastle Herald team that won the United Nations World Environment Day Media Award for Environmental Reporting.
