More than promises: Why showing up for our youth matters

Young people need more than promises. They need pathways - and they need people in leadership who actually show up.

I am one of the few elected members who has even set foot inside YouthARC.

That matters to me.

Because if we are going to make decisions about services for young people, we should first understand the places they use, the people who work with them, and the challenges they are facing.

Over this term, I have made young people and their future in Hobart a real priority.

I fought to keep YouthARC where it sits behind City Hall, because young people need somewhere safe, accessible and welcoming where they can connect, get support and feel they belong.

I brought YouthARC and PCYC together to discuss their strategies, look at where their work overlaps, and explore how they could work more closely together. I was surprised to learn until then they had not met with each other.

I pushed for Hobart City Council to invest in the Beacon Foundation, helping create stronger links between school, employers and the world of work. Last week I successfully secured a second round of Council investment in Beacon.

That is what I want Council to do more of: identify programs that are delivering value, back them, and build on what works.

I have also met with the heads of TasTAFE and Minister Felix Ellis to discuss how TAFE could evolve and how we can strengthen vocational education in the heart of our capital city.

TAFE should be a major part of Hobart’s future.

I have also supported young artists and creatives, because opportunity is not one-size-fits-all.

A young person’s future might be in construction or technology. It might be in accounting, hospitality, design, music, film, the arts or starting a small business of their own.

The role of a capital city should be to help create the conditions where all of those futures are possible.

Next term, I want to take this much further.

I want Hobart working directly with schools, TasTAFE, Beacon, PCYC, YouthARC, universities, employers and industry to create much clearer pathways from school to employment and careers.

I want stronger cooperation between youth organisations so we stop working in silos.

I want more opportunities for young people to connect directly with employers.

I want Council to actively support the industries that will create the next generation of jobs.

And I want young people themselves involved in shaping the city they will inherit.

We talk a great deal about keeping young people in Tasmania.

But people stay where they can see a future.

I have spent this term showing up, building connections and getting real investment onto the ground.

Next term, I want to turn that work into a much bigger Hobart-wide pathway to opportunity.

Because our young people should not have to leave Hobart to find their future.

We should be building that future here.