It was a pleasure to participate in the Raise Our Voice in Parliament campaign, a national non-partisan initiative aimed at increasing the political literacy of our young voters and future voters under 25 by connecting them with their local Member of Parliament or Senator.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the speech by 16-year-old Queenslander Jade on mental health support for young people in Queensland. What an impressive speech by such an inspiring young lady.

One Nation looks forward to participating again in 2025!

Transcript

It’s my pleasure to join the Raise Our Voice in Parliament campaign, a national non-partisan initiative aiming to increase the political literacy of all our young voters and voters-to-be who are under 25 through connecting them with their local member of parliament or senator. Today I’m pleased to read 16-year-old Queenslander Jade’s speech: 

My name is Jade, I am 16 years old and my electorate is Petrie. 

The issue I would like to address is how little there is being done about mental health. Recently, I attended a youth mental health/leadership camp—this camp is called Borderline Australia. 

I went into this camp terrified; I went in with 3 friends but we were in separate groups, in separate cabins and I knew I was going to have to talk to strangers. 

I’ve struggled with many issues in my life, mainly mentally. They were either internal or they were due to the experiences I’ve had to face whether that be growing up or even recently. 

At borderline, I connected with many people and made new long lasting friendships, I would call them family. But it was when people would share their stories that I realised nothing is being done. 

Many issues with mental health are occurring and it’s not good enough that we don’t do enough. And it’s so sad that everyone has a story. Having this realisation made me sad and sympathetic – are my future children going to grow up in a world where their mental health isn’t cared for? 

This issue is important because it is a fundamental right that people should live in a community where they are cared for and they shouldn’t have to pay to seek help for their struggles. 

People do care, people will listen and help—the ones you least expect. My call to action is for therapy to be free to the youth, and for Borderline Youth Camp to be able to occur more frequently to help the youth like myself—as it makes an everlasting impact. 

Jade’s heartfelt comments deserve a place in the Senate Hansard. They’ll be going into the Hansard as part of the Raise Our Voice in Parliament campaign.