Today we are going to discuss how young people can be empowered to shape the decisions that affect their lives.
Admin: The Prime Minister has joined the chat.
PM: It's great to be here online with you all today. Firstly, I want to say 'hello' from Kate Ellis, the Minister for Youth, who is holding the first of a series of national consultations at Lyneham High in Canberra this morning. As I said in my blog - I didn't want the conversation through the blog to be a one-off. That's why I'm proud to launch the National Conversation with Young Australians. Over the next six weeks, the National Conversation will involve events with young people right across
nathaniel: good morning mr rudd
Marguerite: Good Morning Mr Rudd, I am interested to know why you are not planning on going to Copenhagen for the UN cliamte talks? I was so proud when you went to Bali and demonstrated to the world that Australia was serious about tackling climate change
PM: including forums that people can go to, either in person or online, and opportunities to send your thoughts via emails or posting videos. The National Conversation gives us an opportunity to debate the matters that are foremost in young people's minds - right across the country. So let's get into it.
BradB: Good morning Prime Minister
Monica: Hi Kevin, thanks for allowing us to talk to you about how young people can be empowered to shape the decisions that affect their lives. It is actually very important to me that I feel that as a young person my opnion counts.
Alastair: I'm an environmentalist, but I'd love to talk about mental health for youth
mkanderson: Will these thoughts be read by you?
Monica: I would love to talk about mental health for youth too!
PM: Actually Marguerite, I've said to Prime Minister Rasmussen of Denmark that I would be happy to go. And we are working furiously behind the scenes to try and make Copenhagen a success.
canberrastudent: Yes and I think we're all impressed that instead of the blog being a one-off we've been invited for further dialogue with the leaders of our country. Thank you
Marguerite: For me its climate change and environmental sustainability - I would be most interested to discuss that please
Alastair: Australia is pretty backward thinking and underfunded when it comes to mental health. My mum is a mental health nurse and trained in the UK. She couldn't believe it when she came here that there was little community support and how people with mental problems were stigmatised. Also friends and relatives don't offer much support in Australia compared to other countries.
Miscellaneous: Kevin, please confirm or deny this, do you think we should concentrate less on climate change and more on other issues in this conversation because there was already another web chat specifically for climate change?
Monica: I am a youth leader/mentor for a youth group in Sydney and almost 50% of the youth i lead have depression of some sort
Marguerite: Thats fantasic to hear- I had read that you weren't planning on going. I am so pleased you are!
PM: Thanks Monica, the whole point of this webchat is to begin a national conversation with young Australians. We want to hear from young people what you want government to do for the future, after all it is your future.
canberrastudent: I'm actually on an excursion looking at the dual diagnosis of mental health disorders and substance abuse as we speak
Ijtro: good morning mr rudd
Alastair: The average GP appt for depression lasts 7 mins, for back pain it's 11 mins. There must be an alternative.
jamincanberra: Good morning Prime Minister. I would love to talk about anything, but especially internet filtering and youth alcohol problems
Alastair: There needs to be more community support with some really good effective programs using the latest methods from around the world. In Australia, only 15% of people seeking treatment for mental problems get proper treatment.
BradB: Prime Minister, can I ask what your thoughts are on the recent National Human Rights Consultation repert? I think that the most important part human rights legislation can play in Australia is to enhance rights consideration in policy and legislative development...
PM: Alastair, you are dead right. We have a problem with funding and delivery of mental health services across Australia. It's one of the reasons we are now debating with the health and hospital community across the country long term reform of the system. I'm told that at present, 2/3rds of all Australian mental illness conditions go untreated. This is bad for people and bad for the country. And the best way of dealing with mental health challenges is with early adolescents.
Monica: I agree with Alastair in the point that he made about how people with mental health are stigmatised. I deal with youth between the ages of 12-17 on a regular basis as I mentor them. SOO many of them get bullied at school for no reason at all. To add to this most of them have divorced parents which significantly affects their self esteem and self worth
canberrastudent: Also there isn't enough information for youth about how drugs can affect the onset of mental health problems, particularly if you have a pre-disposition.
Alastair: I think it would be scary for a young person to go to a psychiatrist or into hospital but going along to a medical practice would be OK because that's normal anyhow and doesn't have any stigma with it. Why don't we have specialist nurses in medical practices that can give the right time and treatment to people...young or old.
Monica: If these kids are to be empowered in the near future to change decision that affect their lives, they need to believe from a young age that the govt/ law making process is on their side
Alastair: Huge amounts of people in prisons have a mental illness so surely if we took mental illness seriously and gave loads of specialist community support we would also reduce crime!
PM: Re canberrastudent is looking at these problems as we speak. What I'm interested in is what new type of services or better delivered services are likely to be most effective for young people with mental health challenges.Any ideas folks?
canberrastudent: Have yout hought about putting funding in to schools SRCs and using some of that to give peer leadership groups information about detecting and treatment for youth? Not all students are comfortable seeing the psychologist
Marguerite: It seems to me that the biggest problem is a lack of trained professionals especially in rural areas. My father is a Doctor in a rural area and he is over worked as are all the other health professionals in the area. Many leave because they get burned out.
Alastair: Yes...we need specialist nurses in medical centres and schools who can run effective programs.
Monica: Yeah i agree, it should probably start at schools!
PM: Monica, there is a big challenge for us all to destigmatise mental health. We have to get to the stage soon of having the community understand that a mental health problem should be seen like any other physical complaint - and capable of being treated. Otherwise we are allowing people to simply live in misery when useful treatments are at hand. Any ideas about destigmatisation please?
Miscellaneous: We could educate high school students in the symptoms of various mental health disorders and show them where to get help
Monica: that is when they are "young adolescents" and their mindsets, attitudes and thoughts are being shaped
Alastair: I think mental health programs should be run by professionals rather than students. I think it'd be too scary to have to deal with other kids issues at that stage.
Alastair: ..and not very responsible.
canberrastudent: What about mental health particularly in Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander youth? IS it significantly worse and if so , should we look at it differently?
Monica: Education from a very young age about tolerance
Hayleyg: I don't know much about mental health but it always seems there is an emphasis on treatment and not prevention. How much do we know about what causes mental health problems? There has to be something to do with our affluent lifestyles, eg if you go to a developing nation the level of depression is much lower
Alastair: Black Dog and Beyond Blue have done great work with removing stigma through media exposure. Just need to do the same with schizophrenia, bipolar and whatever else.
Miscellaneous: Show them statistics and how prevalent they are in society, I think it would make conditions seem more normal
Ijtro: Many people that are mentally damaged or challenged just need a bit of TLC. People need to learn that they are just like us - they just want to be your average 'John Smith' (or your above-average John Smith, which is fine too), but they really just need a bit of help to find their feet and stand up in the community.
Monica: Stigmatisation is so cultural isn't it?
canberrastudent: Also, our psychology class is breaking down stigmas and discussing how people with mental health issues are pretty much like everyone else. We can do a lot of work on this issue thorugh schools- distributing information, detecting issues
Alastair: I think that's because they have tighter knit communities. We don't here in Australia. Sydney is the pits for this!
PM: The SRC possibility should be explored. And at two levels. One is to encourage positive mental health by engaging the nation's young people in projects they stick with throughout their school years. By which I mean local community projects. Indigenous community projects, where a school might link in to support. Or an international aid project in the developing world. That's the sort of stuff a program called High Resolves is on about at present. The other part of the challenge is to help sch
Monica: canberrastudent, I know that there are some alarming stats on ABTSI mental health
Marguerite: Destigmatisation is difficult- I think the word depression is thrown around a lot, too much. I agree that early intervention in schools is best. Foster a culture of understanding and sympathy towards people with mental illness- maybe get school children to visit a local centre talk to the staff, volunteer with patients.
jamincanberra: Yes should start at schools! From my experience schools dont teach about drug use honestly. I have learnt more about drug use from music festival voluteers than all my years of schooling!
canberrastudent: Look alistair students are dealing with these issues whether its the best thing or not... friends, siblings, parents.
Alastair: Nice idea, but SRC's are not exactly influential in schools - in fact a lot of kids will work against SRC initiatives because they don't like those elected onto it.
Ijtro: I know a bit about those with mental health problems because my sister has Down Syndrome, and through her I have met many other similar people. All they need is to be accepted and not labelled, not judged because of their differences.
Monica: Yes! I really like the idea of "By which I mean local community projects. Indigenous community projects, where a school might link in to support. Or an international aid project in the developing world. "
Monica: I think communication and a sense of connection to the rest of the world is so important for school children
PM: Ijtro, that's a good idea. We can't underestimate the importance of simple, positive reinforcement for everybody. I don't know if any of you have read a book Seligman (apologies for spelling) which is about both learned helplessness and learned optimism. It's based on neuroscience. About which I know nothing. But I think there are some lessons in that for us all. And encouraging habits of thinking early on, in what can otherwise be a pretty despairing world for a number of young people.
mkanderson: Prime Minister, can I ask about what the government is doing about making it easier for GLBTQ youth to come out when all they see through media and first hand experience, is that the government doesn't see them as equal as they can't get married? And it is great that some laws have changed to bring equality, but can you see it makes it harder for society to fully accept this group when it seems the government doesn't to a full extent?
Hayleyg: why do you think the world is despairing for young people?
Alastair: Drop in centres would be cool. A place with kids with problems could meet with others and know they're not alone.
Monica: i was in high school less than 2 years ago and its amazing how many of us were so ignorant of mental health issues, our connection to the aboriginal people (not to mention our responsibility to them)and just in general empathy towards someone
Miscellaneous: agreed - adolescents need to feel connected to the rest of the world
PM: Monica raises the question of school bullying. This is a deep, deep problem across Australia. All of us need to adopt an absolute zero tolerance approach to any form of school bullying. And that includes all forms of cyber-bullying as well. This stuff really stinks. A whole lot of young people are being traumatised by it as we speak. And the only way through this is to bring about deep attitudinal change. Any ideas guys?
canberrastudent: We have them- youth centres.
Marguerite: I think education is the answer. I gained an emormous amount of empathy for people with schitzophrenia when a psychology lecturer of mine made us do a simple exercise. He got two of us to pretend we were having a job interview and then he acted as the voice in the persons head and demonstrated how damaging this issue is. Exposing young people to others with mentail illness is the best way to destigmatise
Alastair: I don't think families get enough support either when they have a kid who gets sick. There's such a stigma about it - I've seen kids 'disappear' from school and no one is allowed to talk about it. If we were all more open about it and could see it as just another illness then maybe they'd get more support.
canberrastudent: sorry about the delay... i have to keep refreshing the page. \
Monica: It is definitely a DEEP attitude change, its another result of stigmatisation. When you label someone straightaway by the way they act/look/dress
Marguerite: I think too many young people spend way too much time online. Its like a virtual world for them. Encourage sports and extra curricula activities - you can't bully someone online if you are outside playing with friends. THis might also help decrease childhood obesity
Alastair: ...I'm sure throwing some serious funding into the hospital and community health service would help too.
PM: Hayleyg asks about despair. I can't pretend to have all the answers on that. But the Seligman book I referred to before is worth a read. I also think part of the answer lies in encouraging all young people from their earliest days in schools, to be engaged in projects helping other people - that is engaged in projects much bigger than themselves. But on mental health challenges for young people in general, Health Minister Nicola Roxon will be hosting a blog on this in the next few weeks. We'l
Alastair: One of the problems is that nurse training now isn't like in my mum's time. She trained especially for mental health. Now, you have to do a degree which covers all types of nursing and spends only a tiny amount of time on mental health and yet each year 1/5th of Australian pop. have a mental illness. We need to get older people into mental health nursing as they've got more life experience. If I got sick I wouldn't like some other kid straight out of uni telling me how to run my life.
canberrastudent: I agree with marguerite. This excursion will be a real eye-opener for all of us
BradB: Depression and mental health issues are sometimes purely biochemical, in which case we need effective treatment and readily available help; however, for those who say sink into depression due to bullying, trauma etc. friends family, schoolmates and community involvement becomes much more important...I think a lot of it comes down to values taught in schools, at home and amongst friends
Ijtro: bullying is very difficult to combat, mainly because it can be so invisible, and there are so many different forms - it is almost impossible to monitor them all, especially in a school environment
Hayleyg: you talk a lot about working through schools, that would assume there is a level of ability amongst teachers to be able to educate on these topics. Do you have any thoughts about trainer the trainers?
Alastair: It's also about providing opportunities for families with teens to socialise together. I don't think Australia does this well. I've been over to the UK a few times, and other countries in Europe and they do it REALLY well.
Monica: Mr. Rudd, can I encourage you on the project you were talking about where school link with each other, especially to schools with high aborignal poplulation. Kids need to be exposed to how the other kids their age are and it also promotes exposure to the 'real world'
nathaniel: if i may PM but it is not just in schools bullying goes on just as much in the wider comunity even question time has its fair share of it i think we need our leaders to show leadership in the area of bullying and show us that it is not acceplable
canberrastudent: Maybe the training at uni just needs to be better. I think it's unreasonable to try to get older people involved. we're under staffed for nurses as it is. And its not about someone telling you how to live your life... if you want that, try a psychologist.
Alastair: With the talk of increasing the alcohol age to 21, where on earth would 18-21 year olds go to socialise and be part of a group?
Monica: I think through projects that school children need to undertake, the kids involved naturally tend to rely on each other, it might encourage them to see the kids who get bullied in a different light
PM: marguerite talks about child obesity. The child obesity rates in Australia have doubled in the last twenty years. The last data I saw had 24 per cent of young people classified this way. So somehow we need to combine what I've talked about already today - which is getting young people totally absorbed and engaged on projets bigger than themselves. As well as making physical activity either part of those projects or something equally fun to do - without young people believing they have to be th
jamincanberra: I think its values parents need to teach...that this is not a "virtual world" this is someone on the other side! I think more should be done on things like improving peoples internet security and identity.
Ijtro: BradB - on the right track, I think, but it's also about attitude. If you have someone with just a really bad attitude, sometimes it doesn't matter how good or how many values you try to teach them, it just doesn't get through
canberrastudent: Unfortunatley most of the seminars about bullying don't seem to be really connecting with kids. we tune off, because we think we're being talked down to.
Alastair: My school told us it was the gov't who'd just reduced the amount of sports we had to do in senior years.
Monica: Its funny because obesity challenges the mental health of a child as much as or even more so than physical health
Ijtro: PM. I think you may be falling foul of the character limit...some of your comments seem to be cut off near the end. It's annoying, but you might need to perhaps shorten some of your comments.
Marguerite: I agree we need to get young people out and about. Maybe money for schools to run extracurricual activities outside and inside school hours? I went to a stiener school and we were always going on excursions and camps and doing meaningful things like volunteering with the local old peoples home. I think schools are too focused on testing generic atributes and are not engaged in creating the kinds fo human beings we want in this world. Also bright energetic children are often falsly labelled as A.
PM: Marguerite was talking earlier about Copenhagen and climate change. Recently Youth Decide 09 Australia conducted Australia's first ever youth vote on climate change. It was done over a week in mid September. Nearly 14,000 young Austrlaia's between 12 and 29 voted on what they wanted to inherit. 97.5 per cent voted for stronger emissions target than we are currently proposing.
canberrastudent: Again i think that putting funding into peer leadership groups is one of the key issues. You can use it as a platform for looking at new, inovative programs to tackle bullying, mental health and issues like obesity. It can give community within the school, and it could be applied on more a case by case basis.
Alastair: Should parents be held accountable for raising fat kids...just to be provocative!
nathaniel: i was bulled at school and the problem is that it isnt like just someone bumps u into a wall although that does happen its people saying things belittleing u over a period of days and weeks that gets u down.
Hayleyg: Yes I voted in Youth Decide and agree with stronger emissions targets
Alastair: Absolutely! Businesses should be made accountable for ensuring their building complies with gov't legislation on sustainable practice. ie, energy efficient lighting, reduction of water, recycling, energy use etc
Monica: Yes, I voted on that Youth Decide 09 survey and its such a great way for you (Mr.Rudd) to see what issues really are bothering us young people of aus
Marguerite: What impact has the results of youth decide had on the governments climate change policy? Are you going to increase targets?
Ijtro: Yes, Youth Decide 09 was a good opportunity - the question, of course, is whether a higher emissions target is feasible, or economically viable.
Miscellaneous: usually parents are more overweight than their kids, its hard to make a lifestyle choice you're taught all your life
PM: By the way guys, speaking of the environment this place (parliament house, Canberra, including my office) has just been invaded by 2000 squadrons of Bougon moths. They are all over the place! Anyone got climate change friendly Bougon moth management techniques out there? Right now they are too close for comfort!
jamincanberra: Targets too low...in the very new future our generation in going to have to implement 80, 90, 100% cuts to dirty energy and you guys are looking at 5%???? and debating 5%???? My god thanks for the token effort....why dont we just save the money for an end of the world party if thats how ambitious we are!
PM: Back to canberrastudent briefly on bullying, any ideas on what does connect with young people on this?
Ijtro: er...moth-traps?
BradB: PM - I understand that somewhere in Canberra they make bougon moth pies...perhaps a solution to the defecit - sell, sell, sell;)
Alastair: I think that we need a legislation to be brought into place that enforces regulations against large profile corporations and their environmental footprint, such as offsetting the impact their factories/offices have on the environment. I think it's ludicrous that Australia isn't utilising natural energy sources. Jobs Infrastructure etc. What about a legislation that stops manafacturers from using excess packaging? This raises both cost and impact on the environment. A while ago i bou
Monica: As I said, combined school projects will be a great way to allown young people to connect to 'the real world'
nathaniel: alister there is a point to that. who feeds the kids who organiset their activity's there is an element of parents causation
jasononeil: I'm with canberrastudent for setting up peer leadership groups to face a whole bunch of issues. Bullying definately included. I've been part of (extra-curriculur) programs like this and found them really helpful...
Monica: and see their co-students in a different light
PM: Aliastair talks about building standards. We're now working with the States and Territories on this. I'm advised that if we get things like building standards right, and energy efficiency measures more generally right, we could bring down our greenhouse gas emissions by up to 30 per cent.
Marguerite: I agree they are way too low. All it means that in our lives we are going to have to implement radical changes which are going to have far greater impacts on our society economy and environment than they will if it happens now
nathaniel: those moths are very good eating a low carbon alternative anyone?
Alastair: Did you know there's not a degree for this in Australia but is elsewhere. Its what I want to study, so I know.
Hayleyg: so how are you going to response to Youth Decide?
Ijtro: jamincanberra - 5% is still a lot of energy, and means a big cut for many businesses. Many people would just flat out refuse even thinking about some of the targets you are talking about, as it would completely destroy most of the economy.
Miscellaneous: I agree that global warming is a major issue, but it was given an entirely separate webchat, surely the issue would be covered more in that longer time period
Alastair: On sustainability...I've been trying to get a national CFL recycling and collection system in place for years. My sisters and I run one locally - no reason it couldn't go national!
PM: On targets, the scientists tell us through the international panel on climate change (about 4,000 of them) that we need to stabilise greenhouse gas emissions at 450 parts per million if we are to keep global temperature rises within the 2 degrees celcius band. At the Major Economies Forum I intended with President Obama in Italy in July, the 20 largest economies in the world for the first time agreed that this science and those targets should guide our policy. But right now we're still engaged
jasononeil: Alastair - wow, where would you have to travel to study?
BradB: I was bullied for many years as a high school student...my involvement in the WA State Emergency Service as a volunteer helped me get past it, see my own value and be the confident person I am today...the communit has much to offer to youth
Alastair: What are we doing about our Murray Darling Basin. This gives me the most concern.
PM: Thanks Alastair for the information. I'll have Peter Garrett and Julia Gillard's offices email you direct on why this is not the case and what we can now do about it.
Monica: Agreed! with Miscellaneous
PM: By the way, thanks for the advice on the bogon moth pies. yum yum!
Marguerite: A lot of these emissions exposed industries have had a lot of time to prepare for this. CLliamte change talks started in 1992 in Rio and the Kyoto protocol was developed in 1995 - any industry that screams that they can 't adapt or this is un fair have just been digging their heels in. Increasing targets also makes Australia a good place to invest in renewable energy and creates jobs. Did you know that China is ranked a lot higher ( 7 places) than Australia when it comes to renewable energy inve
jamincanberra: Maybe the platform where schools have there own interactive website (like facebook) where kids in the school can connect and organise out of school sports etc. Obviouslly monitored to stop bullying!
jasononeil: BradB - very similar story for me, was bullied throughout primary school, found my stability in who I am by volunteering in community projects. It helps alot :)
Alastair: UK, Germany and the US run degrees in sustainable building engineering and management. The specialists currently employed in Sydney are all imported from the UK but run into brick walls because there isn't the legislation to force businesses into making their buildings more efficient. Water and energy are way too cheap here.
Monica: BradB, I agree with you. It is only when you see the world outside of the bubble you are in as a child, do you appreciate the world and people for who they are!
Ijtro: good protein in those moths. very healthy.
nathaniel: u do realise pm that the climat change argument has more holes in it than a screen door cant we have a proper debate like public debate so we can all make informed decisions on if co2 is the problem
Alastair: Yes, a lot of talk here at high levels about sustainability, but not much action at business and State govt level
Monica: lol! I want a pie now
PM: We need to integrate the climate challenge with the green jobs challenge. That's what we're doing in part, at present, with the home energy insulation program - creating jobs today by investing in the energy efficiency measures we need for tomorrow. if we manage to succeed in having all owner-occupied dwellings in the country with ceiling insulation, I'm told we can through that measure alone reduce green house gas emissions by 50 million tonnes. Jobs also generated through recycling projects -
mkanderson: Prime Minister, can I ask about what the government is doing about making it easier for GLBTQ youth to come out when all they see through media and first hand experience, is that the government doesn't see them as equal as they can't get married? And it is great that some laws have changed to bring equality, but can you see it makes it harder for society to fully accept this group when it seems the government doesn't to a full extent?
PM: As for the Murray Darling - you are right to be worried. Natural inflows into the system over the last decade are more than 50 per cent lower than their historical average. That
Miscellaneous: Prime Minister, what do you think about the censoring of Australia's internet. On wikileaks they have an article that shows how it can be abused by a wikileaks article being put on the blacklist. Also Thailand appears to have a similar censoring system with 1200 sites being blocked specifically because they criticized the royal family. Do you have any reasons why the Australian system could not be corrupted in the same way?
nathaniel: funny how nobody is willing to debate the science
Alastair: I think this is good, particularly the solar panels, but farming it out to private business leads to problems. For something as important as this, why isn't the gov't organising it's own contractors to give advice and installation. People are being misinformed.
Ijtro: nathaniel - yes, there are issues with the climate change argument (both of them, in fact) but many of the things that they propose are good ideas whether we greatly effect the climate or not
Marguerite: Nathaniel- there is a public debate - its been going on for over 15 years. If you don't believe the science start by reading some of it - not the propaganda which is funded by the coal and oil industry and others who have an interest in our current situation. Start with the intergovernmental panel on climate change reports-
PM: That's why for the first time we have created a single Murray Darling Basin Authority, which for the first time in 2011 will produce a Basin-wide cap on the water that can be taken from the system. We are also doing two other things: investing in a massive buy-back of water entitlements (already about 600 gigalitres of the total 11,500 ggs available in the system); and a $4.5 billion invetment in improving the efficiency of the system's irrigatn infrastructure so that less water is needed.
jamincanberra: There are many reason why i am against internet filtering 1. Its anti - democratic in my view. The internet is probably the greatest democratic body to arise in our time! China realisis this, thats why they attempt in vein to censor billions of pages 2. Doesnt cover peer to peer networking...like censoring the papers but not the magazines! 3. Will not work! There are billions of pages which grows exponentially every day! 4. I think we have already spent something like $40million or something on
Ijtro: nathaniel - i am willing to debate the science, and i know the science, but not right now
jamincanberra: 5. Internet filtering should be done from the home and office. People and parents have to take responsability! Censorship is not the answer! 7. Whats happens when we get a govt 10 years down the track who decides it wants to censor abortion or euthanasia or something? U are developing a framework to enable this! 8. It will slow down our internet speeds! We are already behind many other countries!
PM: By the way, on Youth Decide, I'm told my office met with their representatives yesterday and were incredibly impressed by the broad range of action that young people have taken on climate change. Much more for us all to do.
jamincanberra: 9. In my view internet cencorship at that level should probably be made illegal! Definatly not endorsed and funded by the govt...give the millions$ to the salvation army and get people of the streets or something. Money should be spent on improving our online security, not on cencorship!
Miscellaneous: Is it possible to move on from climate change. I too am very emphatic about the subject but there has already been a web chat specifically for climate change. We can not possibly cover more issues than they did when they have more time
Alastair: Every home in Australia should be fitted with solar panel linked to a grid to supply their State in excess times. Useage is highest in summer when the solar could be used to drive the aircons of homes instead of being a drain on the power supply.
Monica: Kevin, seeing as the last webchat was totally climate change oriented and so is this one, I think its pretty obvious what the people in Australia really want you to hear.
Alastair: Take a look at our planet patrol website and you'll see plenty of action done by Australian youth.
Ijtro: PM - some good initiatives with the Murray Darling Basin. What is happening concerning some of the vast amounts of below-ground water?
PM: Back to jamincanberra on school bullying. What do people think about the idea of schools with interactive websites to get young people up and out and fully engaged in school and community life.
mkanderson: It is also because certain topics are avoided. No suprise there.
Marguerite: I think we need an extra forum - maybe in person - to discuss youth and climate change. I would be happy to come to Canberra to do this if it can be organised
Ijtro: good idea with the interactive website, though it still won't work for everybody. Some people are just really lazy.
PM: By the way, on related problems facing young people. We're now directly working with states and territories to develop a best practice policing model to tackle alcohol-fuelled youth violence. I'd really appreciate any ideas young people have on this front too. Big problem in our biggest cities right now.
nathaniel: yes i resaerch the ipcc and in the report that gave us the Kyoto protocol the scientists woh where working on the science said that they did not have evidence supporting a co2 temperature link and that paragraph was removed by the policy makers in the ipcc
Alastair: I don't think bullying is a problem that's going to go away. In my experience, the best way I've seen it handled is when a school takes it very seriously, calls in parents, discussions etc, etc. If kids know they can't get away with it, they avoid bullying behaviour.
Monica: from my experience, the internet claims to connect people but it really doesn't, it only disengages them from the reality they need to face. Face-to-face volunteering and community interaction is key to tolerance, education and true discovery of themselves.
Miscellaneous: Prime Minister, would you be able to discuss how the government would keep the internet censorship purely on child pornography sites and not censor political views?
Marguerite: I think extra websites are not the answer - we are already too much of an online society. Schools need to instigate community engagement - children are not meant to sit in class rooms all day and be lectured - we shouldbe out there learning. I learn trig by going outside and measuring angles of buildings and trees and calculating their hight from that. This has stayed with me
Alastair: Bigger fines for those who sell/provide alcohol to kids underage. Bigger fines for those who sell alcohol to those already drunk.
jamincanberra: One reason there is alcohol-fuelled violence in canberra (and i know elsewhere) is the unavailability of public transport to get home. The only option is a taxi line at times over half an hour long...costing for people living in the south or north anywhere between $50 to $100! There are 100's of people standing in the sidewalks, pissed, with very few options to get home! It often results in violence. And due to the cost of taxis often results in people driving home pissed. Basically all the majo
PM: Guys, I've got to start winding up soon, because I've got to go and launch a book on the global financial crisis. But as I said earlier on, part of the point today is to launch our national conversation with young Australians. This continues. The Minister for Youth and Sport, Kate Ellis is going to be running out a whole lot of online and in the flesh consultations with young people in the weeks ahead. Please go to www.youth.gov.au/ayf to check out how you can get involved.
jasononeil: I happen to also be a webdesigner, and in high school my friends and I set up a private forum for organising social events etc. outside of school. It helped alot with getting out among others, but it was limited to just our group of friends. A more open system could be beneficial, but the costs of operating / moderating it would be significant.
jamincanberra: Basically all the major cities need reliable public transport that runs 24 hours a day (This would also greatly decrease our carbon emissions...u cant expect people to use the car less when u dont offer any real alternative) I honestly believe if u helped people get home at the time of their choosing, instead of having to wait til the end of the night to split a cab, drinking more and more alcohol along the way, would reduce violence along with dozens of other problems everyone has!
Ijtro: re alcohol fuelled youth violence - very difficult to combat. Many young people don't realise that it will probably happen to them sometime - they think they can beat the odds, or they're not 'that sort of drunk'. In some cases, that may be part of the issue, but everyone has their breaking point - and alcohol just lowers it.
Alastair: Transport....what's that? I live in the suburbs!
PM: I hear the ideas from Lyneham High in Canberra, where Minister Ellis is this morning, are coming in thick and fast. I'm sure Kate will keep me in the loop about what she's heard this morning.
jasononeil: Can I bring us back to a theme that's been running throughout the discussion: that mental health issues can be a big issue stopping young people effectively making decisions. Given how important it is, I find it surprising that there is very little 'formal' education on emotional intelligence in schools. It's like our Maths and English teachers are supposed to teach it...
Marguerite: Some of the policies introduced in NSW to tackle aclohol fueled violence have been rediculous and innefective. Some bars in Sydney which have done the right thing and reported incidents are being targeted and made to serve everything in plastic cups ( what a waste!) this stops responsbile people from going as who wants to drink out of a plastic cup and does nothing to reduce violence
Monica: Kevin, I just hope you take something from this discussion. We are not here to criticise you on the work you are doing (no doubt, its hard). We just want to work together with you to find a solution
Alastair: Marketing anti-ads to combat the glamourisation of alcohol.
nathaniel: the problem is people still think it is cool tho go out and get blind drunk
PM: By the way before we wrap up, weI don't want to ignore the debate on internet filtering. Look i know this is really controversial. But we are trying to get the balance right, between maximising individual freedom on the one hand, while protecting young people in particular from the real nasties out there. This aint easy. But if you've got views, please put them direct to Kate on the national conversation website.
jackwebster: There needs to be some sort of Grants program for Local Council for Public Transport. The Transport around the Nambour area is horrific - especially when there are major issues regarding the uptake of business in this Region.
jasononeil: Throwing an idea out there, would it be possible to have an "emotional intelligence" or "healthy relating" class as a core subject. I think it's hugely important to success in life, and to set young people up to make good decisions for the whole community.
Alastair: Thanks very much for this opportunity today. Do take a look at the planet patrol website for what we're doing with youth motivation on climate issues.
Marguerite: Thanks for this opportunity, I will certainly stay involved in this chat. Clearly there are numerous issues that need to be discussed - too many for one web chat
PM: By the way - gots lots of feedback last time about how rotten my typing was. That's why I'm job-sharing today with one of my staff - who remarkably has increased both my typing speed and accuracy!
jackwebster: PM, Is this chat ending at 10am AEST - I was aware that it was ending at 10am Eastern Standard Time
jamincanberra: With the website i was thinking something which enabled sports coaches and other groups to interact with students...showing them whats out there where and when! A place where results and achievments of sports teams are posted. Links to mental health etc.
jasononeil: Alastair-like the quite smoking campaign?
Ijtro: internet filtering - they can all just be hacked, that's one of the big problems. A different sort of internet filter is needed (though i don't know exactly what i mean when i say that) because some stuff does need to be filtered.
Miscellaneous: I agree, they seem to need more structure
nathaniel: thanks for the oportunity to express our views PM
Mikis: with alcohol-fuelled violence, I think the problem is that it's so normal in society today. All the news focusses on bad things (murders, wars etc) and movies are action-packed with fighting. It's almost idiolised now, even though people know violence is bad. I agree with public transport - a lot of problems I've seen is when we're all out waiting for taxis and people get into fights because everyone is just waiting around.
Miscellaneous: the web chats need more structure*
nathaniel: yes like the quit smoking campaign
Monica: I like that - emotional intelligence. So much of us lack that. qualities like empathy and consideration and tolerance are needed to change the bullying patterns and stigmatisation in our society
Monica: THANKS K-RUDD!
Marguerite: Those quit smoking ads are sooooo effective I know people who have stopped smoking after seeing them
BradB: I think education on human rights could teach youth about being more considerate and combating bullying...
PM: Last comment from me and in response to Monica's comment about working together. Thanks for all that. You're right. Government is at its best when you guys are giving us fresh sets of ideas. Also at its best when you tell us what's working on the ground, and what's not. Like that point earlier on in the discussion about school bullying seminars being a turn-off. So let's keep it up guys and bombard Minister Kate with all your best ideas and what you think we're getting right and what we're getti
Alastair: Right, back to school for me. Thanks everyone...been great hearing your views. A pity we can't all keep this going.
Mikis: I completely forgot that QLD is not on the same time as Canberra...that's unlucky. I only just signed in, expecting it to start now!
Ijtro: Thanks for this, PM - another web chat will need to be done soon, I think, and perhaps a longer one. Something in the flesh would also be a good idea.
jackwebster: PM, (I've just signed on from Nambour, thinking the Chat has just started) What are you planning to do about Youth-Adult Autism issues? I've got a brother with Asperger's Syndrome, and I'm worried about his continuation into Adult Life.
Mikis: Thanks Mr Rudd!
Ijtro: mikis - woops...
Marguerite: Thanks PM and thanks to everyone else for a lively conversation - I am keen to keep this going if possible?
BradB: Thanks PM, look forward to seeing more of these chats in the future.
jackwebster: Mikis, same here :( - There was not a clear indication of whether Daylight Savings was applied to the chat times.
PM: Feel free to check out the Government's new website about our National Conversation with Young Australians (www.youth.gov.au/ayf) and watch the video of Kate Ellis and the PM outlining what it's all about.
Ijtro: oh well, looks likes its back to studying for me. Thanks for the discussion guys!
Miscellaneous: Thank you for this opportunity. It makes youths feel more empowered, having someone important listen to our opinions
jasononeil: Thanks also:)
jamincanberra: Thanks for the opprtunity PM, good luck this arvo....remember being tough on refugees is like being tough on your little sister.... its actually one of the weekest things u can do!
Monica: I have applied to try and be a part of the Steering Committe organised by Hon Kate Ellis. Its a great way to hear young people and what they are passionate about. I hope our voices are heard through that.
jasononeil: I also missed out on the first 35 minutes due to a misunderstanding with time zones. The email clearly said "Eastern Standard Time", which I assumed meant daylight savings wasn't applied.
Alastair: BTW..great book on sustainability written for youth is Green Stuff for kids by Tanya Ha. It's really brilliant and makes sense!
Mikis: jack and jason - so disappointing hey!! Obviously QLD needs to get daylight savings here too :P
Monica: Yeah, "being tough" is such a harsh word to be used on a 5 year old girl who is in a life or death situation
nathaniel: well goodbye all been nice chatting with ya.
Monica: I hope you show some sympathy, not only to that boat of refugees, but to all those who are struggling to keep their basic human rights
jackwebster: Is there a feedback system for this 'Web Chat' process?
jackwebster: Mikis, Yes, It really should be made so - causes so much confusion.
Miscellaneous: Just a thought, would it be possible for you (Kevin) to video stream yourself so you can answer the questions as quick as possible. You could have someone type your responses for people who read the transcript.
PMConnect-Admin: Hi folks. The PM has left the chat - thanks for being involved. Apologies to Queenslanders for the time mix-up - as the PM said in his post, the conversation will continue at www.youth.gov.au/ayf over the coming weeks.
jasononeil: WA voted against it last year :(
Miscellaneous: For the next web chat
Ijtro: a transcript will probably be put up on the website at some point.
Addendum
Confusion with time zones caused a number of participants to come into the chat late.
Our apologies for this mix-up.
Participants who were affected by the time zone differences were invited to send comments directly via email for inclusion in the transcript.
From MikiS:
"I wanted to address the topics of empowering youth and alcohol-fuelled violence:
Empowering youth: My generation (I'm 18) has been encouraged our whole lives to achieve things for ourselves. In order to empower youth the focus has to change from ourselves to the community that we live in. This has to start in primary school, where children are first taught to be competitive and be better than their peers. Group and community values need to be fostered in young children, rather than this idea that we should do things just to benefit ourselves, regardless of people around us. If young children can learn that their actions are important not just for themselves then they will be more accountable amongst their peers to make good decisions. You could even try starting a campaign for youth now, to show them that their actions affect their community and their friend. This way, youth will encourage each other to make better decisions, because they will know that their friends' decisions can affect them personally. This could be quite successful, given that a lot of young people these days value friendship so much, even over family values.
Alcohol-fuelled violence: I agree with what other participants were saying about this, and linking it to the lack of public transport. I live in Brisbane, and from my experience, many fights occur when people are outside of the nightclubs, walking past taxi lines and becoming impatient waiting for taxis. Sometimes people wait up to an hour just catch a taxi to get home. When you consider that most of the people hanging around the nightclubs are drunk or have at least been drinking a little alcohol, and filled with energy, it's no wonder that fights start. If public transport were available all night then the number of drunken youth waiting around in the streets would be significantly reduced. There's no doubt that this would reduce violence."