With youth unemployment a massive problem in Australia , the following article by Paul McDonald , chief executive of Anglicare and former head of the Children,Youth and Family Division of the Department of Human Resources , said former ALP politician Pete Steedman , above, understood youth, but modern-day politicians just don't seem to get it .
The critical article was headed Federal advocate for youth could shape progressive, responsive policy and went thus:
I
remember the time I met Pete Steedman, when he was the federal member for
Casey. It was in the 1980s. I was a youth worker in a drop-in centre when
he walked in. Alighting from a red Ford Mustang, sporting a black leather
jacket with customary shades and cigarette hanging out of the mouth, Steedman
strode through a maze of young people and said to me, "F--k mate, no one
up in Canberra understands these young people".
"Get
a load of this guy," I remember thinking. A swearing smoking
rock'n'roll-style federal politician telling me how young people are
misunderstood and governments have to make sure young people are noticed. Young
people could well do with a federal pollie like that on their side these days.
Both
sides of politics seem to ignore young people as a cohort. The aged, young
families and the disabled have some policy theme to them, but governments
impose policy on young people rather than shape policy for them. Yet the
big issues confronting government - religious radicalisation, ice,
unemployment, housing affordability - are predominantly issues of youth.
Our
political ranks are populated from the less colourful, more machined array of
political staffers, union officials or opinionated lawyers who seek political
power. This is hardly the gene pool for an advocate for youth.Sure,
governments have created commissioners for such tasks. The recently established
Children and Young Persons Commissioner and the individual state commissioners
may play a part in advice to governments of the day, but these are small
offices with few resources and less ability to infiltrate the machinery of
policy development in government.
Declining Voice
The
declining voice for the young person and their development shows. Recent
decisions to impose a waiting period for income benefits for 18
to 30-year-olds, the scrapping of the national Youth Connect Program, the
lack of political effort to tackle rising numbers of youth unemployment, and
the general lack of interest in policies on youth transitions shows the
need for a greater understanding of this part of the population. We do
much better at finding out the needs of the aged, or women, or the young
family.
The
growing concern about young people coming under the influence of radical
elements, however horrifying, must be seen in the context of an instinctive tendency
among young people to become attached to anti-establishment concepts. New
guidelines recently set down for psychologists are based on the understanding
that adolescence effectively ends at the age of 25. The change follows
developments in our understanding of emotional maturity, self-image, judgment,
hormonal development and brain activity.
If we
accept this science, then right up to their mid-20s the young are
developing human beings, inclined to make immature and rash decisions on a
myriad of life events. However, governments seem to have a much more simplistic
view: once you reach 18 you are an adult and should accept the full
consequences of this status.
Now
governments are sharpening their pencils to craft policies that have dire
consequences for this age group if allowed to go ahead. Long jail terms for
fraternising with radical groups, removing citizenship if they travel to fight
overseas with IS, even the movement by governments on one-punch legislation
with mandatory sentences of 10 years are commonplace. Other measures leave
unaccompanied minors arriving by boat to languish in detention centres or fend
for themselves with no links to work or school.
Australia in Minority
Australia
is among a minority of countries that does not have a national youth policy or
a federal youth minister. Britain has for some time now recognised the perils
and implications of ignoring its youth and has appointed a Minister for Youth -
as have the Kiwis, Irish, French and Canadians.Such a
minister could bring a spotlight on these issues without being blindsided by
other agendas, and bring poise and expertise to inform reactive policies (or
just plain wild political ideas) that can affect the young adult so
significantly.
Young
people are mature enough to know when they are being ignored. They know when they are not being heard or noticed. They will make their
own choices and seek more welcoming circles regardless of the danger that lurks
therein.The
fundamental challenge of any youth-focused issue is to make sure our youth feel
they belong - in a world that has, typically, little time or focus on
their concerns, apart from, of course, when things go wrong.
A youth
minister would go a long way to fixing that. I think Pete Steedman would have
given that the thumbs up ... and uttered a celebratory expletive.
NOTE: While strongly campaigning against the Vietnam War,Steedman especially opposed sending young conscripts to fight ; trail blazed the idea of centres of education also lining up jobs for graduates ; was mockingly called "King of the Kids" because of his interest in youth issues ; reduced youth unemployment in his electorate and played a large part in promoting and expanding youth involvement in the music industry.
