Asking what matters to young people ahead of the federal election

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The ABC’s Behind-The-News has asked grade 6 students in Adelaide about the upcoming federal election. They gave their takes on the biggest issues, their advice for the next leader of the country and weighed in on whether kids actually care about politics.

Transcript

00:00What do we know about the election?

00:04I think it's going to be pretty tight, to be honest, and I'm really intrigued of what

00:10the result's going to be, so that's going to be pretty cool.

00:13Yeah, also, like, I've seen posters going around for, like, Peter Dutton and then also

00:19Anthony Albanese, like, around my house.

00:22It'll probably be big.

00:24Every election always has, like, a lot of drama in it.

00:27What big issues do you think they should care about?

00:30Pretty sure vandalism is, like, already illegal, like, racism, stuff like that, but I think

00:36they should be more picky about it, because people still do it, and, like, it's really

00:39rude.

00:40Well...

00:41Inflation.

00:42Yeah.

00:43That's a big thing, because prices are going high, like, very high.

00:48Yeah, and lots of people are losing jobs and homes, and some are having to take on multiple

00:55jobs.

00:56I think the price is going up a lot, because, like, when we become adults, maybe, like,

00:59a chocolate bar might cost, like, $100 or something like that.

01:03You don't want $100 chocolate?

01:04Not yet.

01:05You do not.

01:06It's getting harder for, like, teenagers and young adults to afford, like, groceries.

01:09The average weekly shopping now would be, like, $300 to $200.

01:13Protecting our wildlife, because Australia has a very, like, diverse range of wildlife.

01:19And also, smoking is pretty, like, um, like, a hazard thing, too, because, like, people

01:25mostly die and have lung cancer because of those things.

01:28And then also, there's, like, a lot of stress going on, and then they always use cigarettes,

01:32so they should use something else, like...

01:35Like, um, watch a tutorial, how to relieve...

01:39Yeah, like, breathing, breathing exercises.

01:42Do you think kids really care about politics?

01:45Um, I think it just depends on, like, what they're interested in, because, like, politics

01:49can be really boring in school.

01:51I think kids do find it interesting, cos they're always, like,

01:54oh, what's going to happen with this? What's going to happen with that?

01:57And it depends about, like, the age level, cos you get more intelligent over time.

02:01Do you think kids should vote?

02:04Um, not really, because, well, some people, maybe at, like, 10 years old,

02:08might not really, um, know what it's really about.

02:12Well, I think kids should have a say.

02:14The age restriction should be, like, 14 to 16.

02:17Um, not really little kids, cos they might just be, like,

02:20there's more, I want more lollipops.

02:22Um, but, like, kids our age, like,

02:26grown-ups don't always have, like, the same opinions as kids, so...

02:30Like Mariah said, um, some little kids

02:34will probably just care about, um, lollipops,

02:38um, more playtime.

02:40Those are real issues.

02:42Yeah, but they're for the school and your daycare.

02:45Not for, like, the prime minister.

02:47If you could give the prime minister one piece of advice,

02:50what would it be?

02:51Uh, to start making actions on climate change.

02:55Climate change is really, um,

02:58it's harder, probably, to play sports outside if it's gonna get hotter as well.

03:02Can you, um, like, lower the age of the social media ban?

03:08Well, I don't think the social media ban should be for 16.

03:12Maybe for 15 and a half.

03:16No, 13 year olds.

03:1815.

03:1930.

03:2015.

03:21If you had to pick characteristics that make someone a good leader,

03:25what would they be?

03:27Well, leading by example.

03:31Probably someone who, like, cares about everyone.

03:34Someone who's good at making decisions,

03:36who listens to other people.

03:38If they promise to do something really good,

03:40they stick to their promise.

03:42Well, thanks, guys. Thanks for joining me.

03:44Thanks.

Category

Transcript

Recommended