Youth Affairs

Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen, my name is Aimee Ocampo and I am from Seven Hills in Sydney's West. I am privileged to represent the youth of NSW as Youth Parliament's Leader of the Opposition, and as such I have the honour of sitting in a position and place that normally takes 20 years to get to.

The Bills developed and debated throughout Youth Parliament have shown a high level of sophistication, awareness and diversity in issues thoroughly relevant in today's society. The very essences of these Bills deserve much praise and support.

Newcastle addressed the issue of alcohol related deaths, injuries and it's current 'glamorous' image by formulating the Time and Type of Visual Advertising of Alcohol Restriction Bill.

Armidale took a more global approach and introduced us to the increasingly relevant issue of environmental conservation and the mass manufacture of environmentally unfriendly products in the Compulsory Levy on Plastic Bags over the Counter Bill, suggesting the alternative of cotton bags.

The Corrimal and Bowral team encouraged awareness of health and nutrition, as well as the consumer's basic right to readily accessible information. They addressed this through their Nutritional Labelling in Fast Food Products Bill.

North Sydney proposed a scheme to support underprivileged youth, The Government Subsidised Youth Security Scheme.

My own team, Sydney West, developed the Police/Youth interaction Bill, to address the increasing gap between authority and the people they essentially serve, outlining each groups' roles and responsibilities while informing Youth on rights and consequences.

Youth Parliament is the avenue by which we can express these ideas and our concerns - "giving youth a voice" on issues that not only affect the youth, but the whole of society. It takes intellectual, open minded individuals to formulate these Bills. It takes dedicated individuals to take time from their lives, their holidays even, to participate. It takes articulate individuals to express these opinions and exceptional individuals to represent the Youth of NSW in Youth Parliament.

In the words of Helen Keller, "I am only one, but I am one and I'm going to make that count for something". Every representative has more than proven themselves in this regard and I am proud to be counted amongst them.


- Aimee Ocampo