Under 35? Not interested in council elections? Here are 3 reasons you should be!
As a person in my twenties, I was NOT that interested in the goings-on at my local council.
Embarrassingly, I actually got fined my first year in Sydney for not realising it was compulsory to vote in NSW local government elections! Never made that mistake again!
But as I got older, I also realised how the activities of our local government impact our community every day.
Councils aren’t just about roads, rates and rubbish. They do fix our roads and footpaths and collect our waste and recycling but they do a lot more than that.
It was only when I began working for a council 4 years ago, that I truly understood how many of the free programs and initiatives I enjoyed in Sydney had been funded by a council.
1. Councils provide our libraries and community centres, our swimming pools and sporting facilities.
2. They can provide free workshops - for example on sustainability - and free concerts.
3. Local councils can also take action on issues that many young people are passionate about - like pushing developers to provide affordable housing in their projects, localised climate action, and protection of the environment. They can run programs to help transition houses, apartments and businesses to net zero and support EV charging.
And they can also act as advocates for the community to push state and federal governments to do more in these areas too.
It’s also compulsory to vote! You actually get fined for not voting if you are over 18… So don’t do what I did! Make your vote count.
But I understand why you might feel disengaged: as a young person, I don’t feel like our council is particularly interested in what I think.
Bridget, Sally and I want to change that in Lane Cove.
How do you know what Lane Cove’s young people think and want for our community? Ask them
Lack of youth involvement in formal politics is often attributed to a lack of interest. Speak to a young person today in Australia and you’ll find that they usually have very strong opinions on things that matter to them!
Research indicates the more significant barrier to young people’s engagement with government, is governments’ capacity and willingness to listen to and work with young people’s views.
It’s key to how Bridget and our team operate that we have a continuous and ongoing dialogue with our community. And that means EVERYONE in our community.
This is why when we ran our community survey from July to October 2021, we worked hard to make sure young people had their say.
We ran social media ads across Instagram and Facebook for two weeks directly targeting young people and asking them for their perspectives.
We received 100+ responses to our survey - and 30% of those who responded were aged 18 to 40.
We had a decent portion of those aged 18 to 24 too!
Young people, like the majority of our Lane Cove community, are very passionate about the environment.
80% want more local action on climate change.
80% want to see better protection of our native bushland
They also told us that they want:
more local activities for young people like a new skate park
Access to local student accommodation / affordable housing
More youth programs and local mentoring
Increased lighting so they feel safe being out at night
Better and more diverse nightlife
Programs and events that are inclusive and recognise the diversity of Lane Cove
Concerns about inclusivity in our area
Young people want to see more visibility and events recognising our Aboriginal heritage and diversity.
Our independent team absolutely agree that there needs to be more work in this space from Lane Cove Council.
How great would something like this be in Lane Cove?!
We’d like to see the council support the Uluru Statement of the Heart. We’d also like to see more recognition and acknowledgement of the Cammeraygal people and their history and culture throughout Lane Cove. Did you know that Lane Cove Council has a Recognition Action Plan? You never hear much about it! It was introduced in 2016. There doesn’t seem to be any clear reporting on how they're meeting their objectives.
We should be holding “fundraising events for local Indigenous communities, integrating their teachings and culture into local or education programs? Same with LGBT+ issues, such as holding local events, Q&A nights, perhaps even youth mentoring/support programs, etc?” - young contributor to our community survey
80% of the young people surveyed want to see Lane Cove become more welcoming for LGBTIQA+ people. It was 76% among the rest of the Lane Cove Community.
We were saddened, but not surprised, that there was concern about potential intolerance in the community.
“I really worry about the apparent underlying homophobia in Lane Cove. It really scares me as a young queer person. I just don’t know how it can even be happening anymore. It seems archaic.” - Anonymous young person responding to our community survey
Bridget, Sally and myself have also been concerned about this issue. Not everyone is aware of this, but there have been a number of homophobic incidents in Lane Cove in the past few years that had to be reported to police.
Together we need to work harder to make Lane Cove an actively welcoming place for our LGBTIQ residents and visitors. The council could take a leadership position in this!
It would be great to see public events and activities throughout the year including during the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
We would advocate for the council to do more for LGBTIQA+ young people. We've spoken to local youth workers who say that there's a need for more Lane Cove-based programs for LGBTIQA+ young people on the lower north shore. There was previously one with Willoughby Council but it lost funding.
We need to keep engaging our young people
Young people should have more of a consistent input on council decisions. We could have a youth advisory committee but in general, the council should work harder to engage young people and find out what they would like to see from their Council on an ongoing basis.
Our survey showed that by trying different tactics you can get input from young people on local issues. You might have to be a bit more creative, but it's not impossible.
But ultimately, it would be amazing to have more young councillors! Maybe in three years time you could run?
According to the Office of Local Government, the most common age group of councillors is 60-69 years, followed by 50-59 years. Meanwhile, the median age of the NSW population is approximately 38. In Lane Cove, the median age is 36.
As a community, we need to remove some of the barriers to entry and support more people to be in the room helping to make decisions - not just being impacted by them!
Vote 1 Group D, Bridget Kennedy and her team for Lane Cove - Central Ward this election and we can change things for the better! I'd also love you join us at our upcoming forum specifically for young people. It’s on Monday 29 November at 8pm!
