In rural Australia, young leaders are rising to advocate for their communities, recognizing that their voices have the power to influence significant political discussions. One of these new rising stars is Jacob Wright, a 16-year-old Year 11 student at Catholic College Wodonga. Wright is hands-on in his grandparents’ commercial sheep/merino stud operation in regional New South Wales. In an effort to continually connect ag issues to the government’s attention directly, he has taken the lead to form a Young Farmer Action Council.
Wright is clearly frustrated that neither of the big political parties seem focused on advancing the interests of ag workers. He argues that young people should not only be heard but actively engaged in shaping the policies that affect their lives and futures.
People simply cannot afford to buy a home, and it’s ten times more difficult to be able to purchase land, putting it further out of reach for almost anyone,” said Jacob Wright. In short, recognition is active listening, active work and then translating what you all can do to help us.
Concerns of the Younger Generation
Lucas Walsh, director of the Monash University Centre for Youth Policy and Education Practice, highlights the various concerns that resonate with young voters today. Polling shows us that this generation cares mostly about housing, jobs, climate change, inequality, and healthcare. As Walsh goes on to point out, elected leaders owe it to these new young constituents to meet them with sincerity and gravitas.
The huge protests against the Prime Minister since he took power a few months ago point to this pressing need. Climate change moves fast, and young people are being shut out of the conversation, both in practice and in spirit.
The chasm between young voters and the political conversation has never been more clear. Thematic Professor Ferran Martinez i Coma from Griffith University makes a curious observation. Most of these young voters participated in the most recent election largely to avoid fines—not because they felt truly inspired or connected to the electoral process.
Now, that’s an impressive number! When he praised the outcome he noted that 47 percent of voters just showed up to avoid paying a fine. “It was not something we expected.”
The Push for Political Engagement
Oliver Baitch, 17, has just completed his first term as Youth Mayor of Albury City Council. He is an ardent advocate for the necessity of engaging young people in electoral and legislative processes. He believes that lowering the voting age to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote would significantly increase youth involvement in policy discussions.
It’s not just about the present it’s about having a healthy world for the future, and it’s all about planning into the future,” Baitch said. No offense to anyone, but I just don’t think messages like this should be written by someone other than a young person. Gimmicks and videos only get you so far.
As Baitch concludes, regional youth need to be equipped and empowered to be part of the political discussions and deliberations that affect their communities. He says that if younger generations are provided with the right opportunities, they can make impactful change.
The Role of Social Media in Shaping Perspectives
Jacob Wright flips through his social media feed, taking in the day’s political happenings, one after another. He agrees that the accountability-free content shared by politicians is desperately uninspiring. He’s concerned that too many of the messages being put out just don’t hit the mark with that youth audience or don’t speak to that concern.
The just-released Monash University Australian Youth Barometer survey has shone a spotlight on this issue. Young people are passionate about housing and climate change issues, among many others. They are demanding deeper examples of commitment from those politicians who are able to provide real solutions, not empty rhetoric.
Wright’s Young Farmer Action Council seeks to address this gap by pushing agriculture issues front and center into political conversations. What’s important is that he raises these issues at the local level. His hope is that by doing this it’ll prompt more action to be taken on them.
