Improving healthcare services for WA’s rural Aboriginal population main focus for Kimberley youth MP

Improving healthcare services for Aboriginal Australians living in rural areas of WA was the main focus for Broome local Georgia Carter, who travelled to Perth last week to represent the Kimberley electorate for 2023 Y WA Youth Parliament. The 20-year-old joined 58 other participants aged between 15 and 25 to present and debate bills they crafted based on their interests to current Members of Parliament, including Minister for Youth Simone McGurk and Speaker of the Legislative Michelle Roberts. The WA Youth Parliament program gives young people the opportunity to participate in democratic processes and offer experience in public speaking and writing legislation on issues they are most passionate about. Ms Carter said the program was creating young leaders to step up to advocate for change using their different opinions and lived experiences, building their confidence to speak up about issues significant to them. “As young people, we have culturally and linguistically diverse people and we have all these people that are there to advocate for their region, their town, their community,’ she said. ‘They can bring ideas to the table, they can bring their experiences — and I think that’s what a lot of people don’t realise.” While working in the office of Kimberley MLA Divina D’Anna, the former St Mary’s College student said the experience opened her eyes to the world of politics and encouraged her to apply for the program. Joining the multicultral and Aboriginal interests committee, Ms Carter drafted a Bill to highlight the gap in health services for Indigenous Australians, specifically in rural and remote areas, to present in Parliament House. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Indigenous Australians have a higher likelihood of being hospitalised than non-Indigenous Australians, but poorer access to, and use of, primary health care services. “We have these conversations in the Kimberley — youth should be involved in decision-making, youth should be involved in conversations that affect them,” she said. “You can’t talk about youth if you’re not going to involve them in the conversation.” For its 28th year running, the program opened with a ceremony at Parliament House on July 10 and participants convened for three days.