Parkes was represented by two students in the YMCA NSW Youth Parliament held in both chambers of the NSW Parliament last week.
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They were Youth Members for Dubbo Yvette Quinn,17, and Rebeckah Auld, 16.
They were members of different groups who looked into different issues.
Yvette was part of the Mental Health Committee which investigated the lack of appropriate reporting guidelines around Mental Health issues.
Rebeckah was part of the Aboriginal Affairs Committee which investigated methods to run an education program for Indigenous Carers about their rights and responsibilities.
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“Currently, there’s no appropriate representation present in the media to offer professional advice and information about mental health, which is problematic seeing how sensitive the topic is,” Yvette said.
Written by a committee of young people acting as representatives for their electorates, their report aimed to overcome the stigma that surrounds mental health in the media and make recommendations to have mental health reportage regulations in place.
“Many mental health suffers are affected by negative reporting and it’s time the media adheres to regulations and laws or face the consequences,” she said.
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“Current information distribution for Indigenous Carers is inadequate, especially concerning eligibility for government financial assistance and support programs from local non-government organisations,” Rebeckah said.
The committee’s report aims to overcome issues of an inaccessibility and promotion of carer information by establishing an Indigenous Carers Recognition Committee.
“This committee would be responsible for giving beneficial and informative talks, distributing pamphlets and the running workshops in Indigenous communities for all carers,” she said.
The report and bill proposed by Yvette and Rebeckah and their committees are part of 20 different pieces of legislation discussed at the 2014 Youth Parliament.
These pieces of legislation were developed following six months of hard work and consultation by Youth Parliamentarians from across NSW.
At the conclusion of the Youth Parliament, the NSW Government and Opposition each received a copy of the legislation tabled.
Over the past 13 years more than half a dozen pieces of Youth Legislation passed by the young people of NSW have been passed into NSW law.
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The YMCA NSW Youth Parliament gives young people a voice in the running of NSW.
The apolitical program, as all programs within the broader YMCA Youth and Government division, aims to promote youth-led advocacy, active community leadership and legal and parliamentary education.