Over the last fourteen years there's been one Australian parliamentarian devoted to giving young people a voice. For 13 of the 14 years of Senator Natasha Stott Despoja’s parliamentary stint, she’s been involved in the annual Youth Poll, an initiative spearheaded by the Australian Democrats giving voice to young people on the political stage.

Australian youth, however you choose to define them, are one of the most underrepresented groups in Australian decision-making bodies. Although young people comprise 30% of the population, their voice is often overshadowed by the ‘squeaky wheel’ social issues of immigration, housing prices, and inflation.

At age 26, Senator Stott Despoja was the youngest women ever to be elected to Parliament. Creator of the Youth Poll and a tireless campaigner for youth issues, she is all too aware of the trials that young people face in having their voices heard. “There are a number of issues that are affecting young Australians that are just ignored or trivialised or patronised, and I think we have a long way to go before the real concerns and needs of Australians, who are, say, teenagers, the very young, under 30’s, whatever your definition is, are adequately represented in parliament,” she says.

As a young woman entering parliament, the Senator noted a flippant manner in which youth issues and concerns were treated by older constituents, and laboured to create a platform from which young people can have their views represented. “If you believe in democracy you have to ensure that diversity and difference of the population is reflected in the parliament. “It’s about basic fairness and rights,” the Senator suggests. “If you believe in democracy, you have to ensure that diversity and difference of the population is reflected in the parliament. It’s about basic fairness and rights."


Each year the Youth Poll is distributed to thousands of schools, universities and youth groups all over the country. The Senator assures that it’s not just the “usual suspects” such as Student Representative Councils that get to have a say. Diversity and a range of responses are important for researchers to gain a realistic view of all of the issues concerning young people. “The aim of the poll, more so than anything else, is to give people a say. It goes to every TAFE, every university, every youth group and also online.” Senator Stott Despoja believes that if only one person thinks, ‘Well, it was nice to be asked,’ then Youth Poll has been a worthwhile initiative.

Critics of the poll accuse it of being merely a soft PR exercise, however the content presented within suggest otherwise. The survey asked participants tough questions about employment, health, national issues and even sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. Included in 2008 was the particularly poignant question, “Do you know a young person who has committed suicide?”

While such questions may be construed as shocking, responses to such frank questions can effectively inform public policy and predict trends in behaviour. Young Australian’s live in a society with one of the highest rates of teen suicide in the industrialised world. “It’s a realistic snapshot. If you do a bit of qualitative research and you ask young people about it, they are very up front,” says Stott Despoja. “It is not surprising, it is just sad.”

While the 2008 Youth poll has concluded, and Senator Stott Despoja’s 14 years of service in Parliament are coming to an end in June, she won’t be leaving quietly.

“I was concerned then, and I am still concerned by a lack of representation of younger Australians in the decision-making bodies. You need young people in power. It not just about people out there consulting them, it’s actually about young people being in positions of power so that they’re not just at the beck and call of a consultation process... but they can actually vote and have a say, initiate policy, and have a role on the issues that effect them. As we approach the 20/20 summit in April, my goal is to ensure that there is real representation of young people. “



To view the 2008 youth poll please visit: http://natashastottdespoja.com/aspx/youthpoll.aspx

Image by katiebate
Licensed by Creative Commons