Thursday, 18 May 2023

Victorian students parliamentary program

Matthew BACH (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (15:44): (233) I am not entirely sure why I am doing this, but I am going to direct another adjournment matter to the Minister for Education. I have now asked 50 questions of her this year. She has responded to two, so I am not quite sure what my chances are here, but I am going to give it another go. The other day, last week, I attended the Victorian students parliamentary program, and it was fabulous. It is actually organised by the minister’s own department. The minister was invited to open proceedings, but something came up very late. She was busy and she could not attend. That was sad. I was invited to close proceedings, and it was just fabulous engaging with so many wonderful young people.

They actually discussed vaping and regulations around vaping. It was an interesting result at the end of the day actually. There was a final vote on vaping and only 10 were in favour; 46 were against. The question being: vapes should be regulated in the same way as alcohol and tobacco – 46 were against and only 10 were for. A number of the arguments, and I heard several of them, were just fascinating and fabulous. I did not necessarily agree with all of them. But in my closing remarks and after my closing remarks when we engaged in a question-and-answer session some of the young people asked me if I would pass on the result to the minister to seek to get a response from her. I endeavoured to do that, so that is my adjournment matter for the minister tonight.

I think it is so important, when we seek to make laws, to talk to people who have – as numerous members of the crossbench like to say regularly – lived experience. While I am on this matter, I was talking to a young lady last night who has lived experience in the care system – Nikita Martin-Cu – and she made extensive commentary in the Age newspaper today about the dreadful situation that so many care leavers find themselves in.

As a quick aside, Ms Copsey was just talking about a similar issue. I am saying Nikita’s full name because she is very happy for us to use her full name. She is a 20-year-old. However, there are regulations in place in the state of Victoria which prevent care leavers from being named. That is something we should change, because so many care leavers want to get out there and advocate and engage like Nikita.

Now, it is interesting. I have been advocating this week not only to legislate Home Stretch, which is a fabulous program put in place by this government after much agitation from Ms Crozier when she was the relevant shadow minister, but then to go further. Let us go to 25. Let us provide support to 25. I only want – and care leavers only want – the government to act as a good parent would. I reckon my girls are still going to be with me when they are 25. Why don’t we do what a good parent would? And it is interesting because the government says this is actually not going to cost us more, it is going to save us money. This is what Mr Pearson said. I know I was pooh-poohing some of the other things he said this week, but this is fabulous. He said this 600 days ago when he introduced the bill that I then introduced this week:

Evidence shows that supporting care leavers is not only the morally right thing to do –

hear, hear –

it makes good economic sense, with downstream savings …

The government needs to find savings in the upcoming budget. They should legislate for support for care leavers to 25 as a savings measure.