_ A~~ rEMARGO: 7.00 p. m.
PRIME MINISTER
FOR PRESS 24 JULY 1977
ELECTORATE TALK
The pace and nature of change in modern life can cause special
kinds of community problems and special responsibility for
Governments. Nowhere is this change more direct in its effect
than it is with young men and women.
Trends to smaller families, longer formal education, more females
working outside the home and evolving lifestyles all have direct
impact on the ability of the young to adapt and handle these new
pressures. Technological change of course has immediate and
often dramatic effect. Many business firms are replacing juniors
with computors, or with automated assembly line machinery, so
the problem of finding jobs adds to social pressure.
Today, the problems which adolescents have of identifying
their goals and working towards them become increasingly
difficult, and at the end of the road the jobs are harder to
find. There is concern about the impact of Aboriginal welfare programmes
on the ' problems of Aboriginal students who have been encouraged
to stay at school and now find like other young people that
the expected rewards are harder to attain.
in the universities there is concern about student extremists whose
support for radical political causes and manipulation of student
elections has lead to charges of intimidation and violence.
Most students at university are conscientiously working towards
the goal of higher education, yet extremists given them a
bad name. Some young people seek their recreation in the open
air, on trail bikes or find group identification in motor bike
clubs. The overwhelming majority organise themselves well with
a very real concern for other people in the community. Yet
sometimes they may find themselves all denounced from bench or
pulpit because of the actions of a very small group that might
beat up streets on high-powered super bikes.
So the situation that the young Australians are placed in today
cannot be ignored by governments. The Federal Government is aware
of its responsibility to the young. / 2
An Office of Youth Affairs has been established in the Department
of Environment, Housing and Community Development. It has direct
access to the Minister on all matters of youth policy.
A full time Director of the Office will soon be appointed and I
expect the Office to reach its full staff capability within a few
months. Meanwhile, it is actively working on a number of projects
following discussions with Commonwealth, State and local government
bodies and voluntary organisations-concerned with youth affairs
in all states.
The Office-has given immediate priority to the study of a number
of key questions.. It will encourage. the provision of integrated
services at a local community level. by local government and
non-government agencies. It will study the funding of national
secretariats of community-sponsored youth agencies. It will develop
a " 1conference" l approach togovernment consultation with youth.
It will examine the adequacy-of statistics required for the
planning of youth-services and will look at the special problems
in the change from school to a work environment.
In other words, it will act as a bridge between the Federal Government
and all these organisations both government and communityinvolved
in any way with youth activities. It will provide the
government with a-ready . and continuous means of communication
with young-people and all those who work with them.
The Office itself will be staffed with young people and others with
specialist-experience.
In many ways it is easy for government and politicians to talk about
these kinds of social problems'. It is easy to refer to solutions
to ' deep-seated' structural and long term problems. But maybe
this is small comfort to young people trying to cope with the
pressure and problems of life in the modern community.
All of us politicans, bureaucrats, teachers, judges and
law enforcers can show greater understanding and tolerance.
We can act with more compassion having regard to the way in which
life's pressures do bear particularly heavily-on young men and
women. Governments can play a part. The Office of Youth
Affairs is.. an attempt to at-least make a coordinated start to
seeing how-problems can be solved.
But governments can only do-so much. It is up to the communityand
particularly community leaders to play a responsible role.
Our country's future depends on the way we tackle the task.
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