Celebrating Young People

Mihi.

Good evening. It's great to be here tonight. Coming to presentations such as this is one of the best things I get to do as Minister of Youth Affairs.

I've called this speech "celebrating young people" - that's because I think New Zealand needs to - and while we're celebrating your personal achievements tonight we are also celebrating the success of all young people in Wainuiomata.

In May I hosted the Youth Parliament. It was a great experience and the Youth MPs had a lot to say. At the conclusion of the Youth Parliament the Speaker, Hon Doug Kidd, said " I've seen a glimpse of the future, and I like it".

It's great to see people acknowledge the tremendous potential of young people.

And it's certainly encouraging if you look at what seems to be the prevailing perception of young people and the future they face.

One of the things that has annoyed me recently is that young people get such negative media coverage. Most weeks you will find stories in the media about young people. The stories we read aren't about highlighting the successes, positive role models or telling us about the great things that people like you are achieving.

But I know that the reality is very differemt. Young people have an amazing range array of strengths and talents. There are young musicians, sports people, debaters, mathematicians, skateboarders, artists and academics who are all achieving at the top of their field, but rarely get the recognition they deserve.

While the recent emphasis on youth suicide, truancy, suspensions, drugs, alcohol and crime are of concern - but we mustn't get things out of context.

Similarly, because of a few selected cases, Wainuiomata has managed to gain a lot of bad press too. I think that's unfair. Young people and Wainuiomata deserve a better deal. My challenge to the media tonight is to report the success not only of the young people who have gained awards, but to continue to report the constructive role that most young people are playing in the Wainuiomata community.

The fact is that for 90% or more of young people, life is fine. OK, they have their ups and downs - we all do. They experience the turbulent years of adolescence - we all do. And they face an ever changing social and technological environment - yet again, we all do.

While news stories like to perpetuate the myth of youth as alienated slackers, for many young people the image is almost unrecognisable. Most wouldn't recognise themselves in the downbeat stories because the majority of them are excited about the future and want to play a part in it.

On most measurement scales, today's youth are actually better off than their parents were a quarter of a century ago. You are less likely to drink or smoke, less likely to drive drunk, less likely to die at an early age, and more likely to stay longer in education and gain a qualification.

If we always focus on the negative, what are we saying about our expectations of youth?

If we were to ask young people to rate the top threats to youth today, they would probably cite drugs, AIDS, violence, and peer pressure. But the picture shifts when the questions are about their personal concerns. Then, they cite the same worries that adolescents have fretted about for decades - school, their looks, getting into tertiary education, and getting a job.

There's a quote which goes something like, " protect a lie long enough and it becomes the truth." Quite frankly we've all got a role to play to ensure young people have a positive and secure future and that they have an important part to play in it. As they say in the X-Files, "The truth is out there".

All of you here tonight deserve recognition for what you do and the part that you play in your community.

I'd like to thank Councillor Ray Wallace and Kirsty Sylvester for the hard work they have put in to the Wainuiomata Youth Forum and this award presentation tonight.

I hope that you will all build on your success, whatever that may be, and go about ensuring that Wainuiomata is a place where young people are proud to live.

You can only achieve that by being actively involved in things that affect you or issues you care about.

I want you to challenge the status quo. Go out and push the boundaries. Follow your ambitions and drive, go with your gut feeling and do what you really want to do.

All the best, and have a great night.

- ENDS -