Plea for youth affairs role

TASMANIA should have a dedicated minister responsible for youth affairs and a better strategy to tackle issues affecting young people like unemployment and homelessness.

That is the view of the Youth Network of Tasmania, which says the state is the only Australian jurisdiction not to have a minister for youth, or a dedicated youth strategy.

Giving young people a better chance to prosper by providing better opportunities for them to remain in the state should also be a priority, YNOT chief executive Tania Hunt said.

“Young Tasmanians are facing significant challenges, and we believe they are being left behind and not benefiting from a prosperous economy,’’ she said.

“As a capital city we’re the least affordable to rent a property, we have suicide as one of the leading health issues for young Tasmanians, and young people are disproportionately represented in our homeless population. We also know young Tasmanians are choosing to leave the state for other opportunities.”

Ms Hunt said there were a number of organisations doing positive work for the betterment of youth, but said the lack of an overarching strategy prevented a more co-ordinated approach.

In a submission to the state budget process, YNOT has called for an inaugural Tasmanian youth strategy to better tackle key issues facing young people.

In the report, YNOT said 31 per cent of Tasmanians aged 20-24 lived on less than $300 per week, while a quarter of Tasmanians experiencing homelessness were aged between 12 and 24.

It also said retention rates from high school to Year 12 for

Tasmanian students was well behind the national rate.

Ms Hunt said the State Government needed to have a greater investment in young people and the issues affecting them.

“We want all young Tasmanians to flourish and live their best life in the state, and to have the choice to stay rather than feeling that they need to leave,’’ she said.

The organisation suggested the cost of investing in the project would be about $155,000, which would inform a 10-year Tasmanian youth strategy and an initial five-year youth action plan.

Ms Hunt said YNOT was eager to work with the State Government — including drawing on the experiences of young people — to bring the plan to fruition.

A Government spokeswoman said YNOT’s submission would be considered through the budget process.