iServi News | 17 September 2021 | Term 3, Week 9
“Thank you, Jovan Fidanovski, Member for Balcatta.” That was an introduction that I had to say every time I stood up to speak in Parliament.
It was an honour to represent the Youth of Balcatta in the 2021 YMCA Western Australian (WA) Youth Parliament. If you live in the suburbs of Balcatta, Joondanna, Osborne Park, Stirling, Tuart Hill or Westminster, I was your voice in the Youth Parliament.
The YMCA Youth Parliament is a national project that gives young people a chance to stand up in Parliament and have their voices heard. The program aims to educate, empower and encourage young people to take an active role in their community by contributing the views of their electorate at a state level.
I served in the Youth Government along with the other youth parliamentarians from across the state. As a collective, we researched and drafted bills that were debated during our week at Parliament House. The Youth government and opposition each created four bills to debate in the Legislative Assembly chamber and I was fortunate to be part of the Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs Committee, creating the First Nations Cultural Awareness School Training Bill 2021. This bill aimed to integrate First Nations cultural awareness and Aboriginal history, appropriate for each Western Australian First Nation into primary schools. It was envisaged that this would be a program created by the West Australian Department of Education in conjunction with First Nations Elders and Non-Government Organisations. I am happy to announce that this bill was passed in the Youth Parliament and has been handed to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, the Hon. Stephen Dawson MLC, for his consideration.
During our morning teas, lunches and afternoon teas at Parliament House, we spoke and networked with many politicians on both sides of the aisle including the Leader of the Opposition the Hon. Mia Davies MLA, the Shadow Minister for Youth the Hon. Donna Faragher MLC and Ms Sabine Winton MLA, Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier. The Hon. Michelle Roberts MLA, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, joined us to talk about her role as the first female Speaker and about youth leadership, specifically women youth leadership. David Michael MLA, Member for Balcatta attended on the last day to show his support for myself as the Youth Member for Balcatta, sitting in on our Adjournment debates, where I spoke about the need for more psychologists and counsellors in all WA schools.
On the last day of the program, the youth parliamentarians were privileged to attend a reception at Government House and met with His Excellency, The Hon. Kim Beazley, Governor of Western Australia, where we shared refreshments while speaking about contemporary issues plaguing Australian youth. We then went next-door to visit Council House where we had a beautiful lunch hosted by the Rt Hon. Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas and discussed leadership and what it means to be a young leader within our community.
I would like to thank YMCA WA, Mr David Michael MLA, Member for Balcatta, the City of Stirling, Parliament of Western Australia, Government House of Western Australia and the City of Perth for their continued support and the biggest thank you to Dr Thiveos, who not only recommended this amazing opportunity to me, but displayed her dedication to teaching throughout the whole program, even answering my after hours emails about SCSA when I could not find the relevant information on the internet to effectively rebut an Opposition’s bill.
This program was one of the best experiences I have ever been involved in and I am proud to have represented the young people of Balcatta in the 2021 YMCA WA Youth Parliament.
Jovan Fidanovski (OLS7)
Youth Member for Balcatta