Youth crime. Drugs. Alcohol. Alice Springs has spent a lot of time in the national spotlight this year, and federal politicians have headed to the Northern Territory to address the issues.
In February, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised $250 million in funding for initiatives aimed at improving employment, youth engagement, health and rates of domestic violence in the area.
Last month Opposition leader Peter Dutton also visited Alice Springs and said violence and crime in the town was still at crisis point. He also .
Alice Springs woman Armani Francois believes the solution might be found in speaking to young people. The Central Eastern Arrernte and Torres Strait Islander woman says people in the town are being misunderstood.
Alice Springs, which has a population of nearly 26,000, has spent a lot of time in the national spotlight this year.
“It's kind of like confusion. They (some of the community) are not understanding why their behaviour is the way it is,” she told SBS News.
“Intergenerational trauma; that’s one of the biggest reasons, as well as loss of language, loss of identity, loss of so many things and that creates a whole new topic of 'loss of purpose'.”
Ms Francois said that, as a young, darker-skinned Indigenous woman, she can be stereotyped in Alice Springs.
“You’re walking in town, and you see someone clench their bag … or they stare and think 'she’s probably aggressive', and it hurts your heart,” she said.
“But those stereotypes can inflict behaviour as well.”
You’re walking in town, and you see someone clench their bag … or they stare and think ‘she’s probably aggressive’, and it hurts your heart.Armani Francois
Ms Francois is a youth ambassador in her community and has been advocating on issues such as youth crime through the 2023 NT Youth Round Table. The round table is made up of 18 young people aged 15-25 and acts as an independent advisory group to the minister for youth and the NT government.
In previous years, the NT Youth Round Table has been involved in consultations with community, government and other organisations on issues such as improving health.
Ms Francois said hearing from young people was important to stimulating action, and she'd like to see more support for First Nations youth in her area.
"I'm kind of like everyone's big sister ... they can talk to me and I can speak about it," Ms Francois said.
"It's important to have strong representatives ... because if you don't then all of the issues your loved ones are facing aren't going to be voiced."
Re-establishing youth parliament in the Northern Territory
YMCA (The Y) NT youth leadership and governance manager Kergen Angel wants to tackle the “negative representation” of youth across Australia and get more diverse young people’s voices heard.
Each year, The Y facilitates the youth parliament program across Australia involving around 600 people.
However, the NT is the only jurisdiction that doesn't have a youth parliament for young people to propose policies on issues that matter to them.
The Northern Territory Youth Parliament stopped in 2016 because of funding issues.
“I think that young people deserve to be represented in decision-making bodies that make decisions about them, and historically for them and young people still across Australia and the Northern Territory, are not represented in our political makeup,” he said.
Youth parliaments are generally aimed at young people aged 16-25, with apolitical teams organised through schools or independently.
These teams create the bills that are then debated in the youth parliaments. If a bill passes, it's given to the actual parliament for consideration.
Nearly 70 bills passed in youth parliaments across Australia have gone on to become legislation in different states and territories.
This includes letting people access emergency contraception like the morning-after pill over the counter in Victoria.
Kergen Angel is helping to re-establish the Northern Territory Youth Parliament. Source: Supplied
“NT young people are often used between political parties as ways to get policy points,” Mr Angel said.
“Young people are often stigmatised in the NT, and there’s a lot of dogmatic connections in media between young people and crime."
From dropping out of high school to becoming a lawyer
North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency lawyer Mark Munnich dropped out of a Darwin high school but still wanted to make an impact.
The Yawuru and Gunggandji man joined the NT Youth Parliament in 2013, and in 2016 was the NT delegate for the Commonwealth Youth Parliament, which took him to Canada.
He said his experiences helped him to build up his confidence to where it is today.
Mark Munnich (left) was part of the Northern Territory Youth Parliament in 2013. Source: Supplied
“After I finished youth parliament, I started studying law so I could work in the justice system particularly when law directly impacts First Nations people and that was my passion,” he said.
“I want to try and instil in other young people now that 'you can do this' and 'you’ve got the competence'.”
Mr Munnich hopes that initiatives like youth parliament received consistent, not just "ad hoc", support.
“The ability to bring young people from all parts of the territory is just gold … But I just hope that it’s something stable and continues,” he said.
Some current members of the NT Legislative Assembly were once part of NT Youth Parliament, including Selena Uibo, Chansey Paech and Lauren Moss.
NT ‘behind' the rest of Australia
Stephanie Burgess, an NT Council of Social Services Youth Voice project officer, said the NT was “behind other states and territories”, and young people’s voices needed to be heard more.
She said the NT was the only jurisdiction that did not have a youth peak body but it was working to build one in the next four years.
Stephanie Burgess says it's important to hear from a diverse range of young people from the NT when making policy decisions. Source: Supplied / Stephanie Burgess
“Young people in the NT don’t feel like they are actually being listened [to] and have an avenue to talk to decision-makers and policymakers,” Ms Burgess said.
“We aim to elevate voices of marginalised youth as we’re not hearing enough from young migrants, Indigenous young people, and also young people with disabilities and those from the LGBTQIA+ community,” she said.
“So reinstating the youth voice to parliament would be a fantastic step in the right direction.”
Ms Francois said she is excited about the decisions young people will be able to make in the NT Youth Parliament.
“We need to listen, not only with our ears, but with our hearts and show compassion as a nation, and hopefully we can walk together."
How young is our federal parliament?
There are only two members in the 47th federal parliament who are aged under 30.
WA Labor Senator Fatima Payman, 27, is the youngest member of federal parliament.
WA Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John, 28, is the second youngest.
According the 2021 Census, there are more than 3.3 million people in Australia aged between 20-29.
