Tuesday, 26 August 2025

Kew future leaders speech competition

Jess WILSON (Kew) (13:06): The Kew electorate speech competition is in full swing this month, and I have been run off my feet getting around to local schools to judge round 1 of speeches delivered by dozens of students across the electorate in years 5 to 6 and years 11 to 12. The competition asks students to deliver a 3-minute speech outlining their vision for Victoria, not dissimilar to a first speech in the Parliament.

Many of the speeches, if not all of the speeches, have been incredibly powerful and moving. Youth mental health was an issue so many students raised, including winners Harvey from Kew East Primary, Audrey from Camberwell Girls, Dylan from Trinity, Madeliene from Chatham Primary, Radin from Greythorn Primary and Maya from Fintona. Several students also spoke on community safety, including Prachi from Balwyn High, Axel and Harvey from Trinity, Liam from St Bede’s and William from Greythorn Primary. James from Xavier and Rohan from Kew High tackled the hot topic of AI, while Alessandra from Camberwell Girls highlighted the importance of financial literacy in the curriculum. Chester from Kew East Primary, Nicholas from Xavier, Aya from Methodist Ladies College and Campbell from Xavier spoke passionately about homelessness and the issue of housing affordability for younger generations.

The grand final will be held in September, like other grand finals in this state, here at Parliament, where the winners from each school will compete in the junior and senior divisions. I look forward to their competition.