APPLECROSS resident Amber Withers has reprised her seat in the upcoming Western Australian Youth Parliament, where she will represent her home electorate of Alfred Cove.
After acting as Environment Minister last year, Miss Withers returns as Youth Premier in 2016.
“I’m actually vice-president of UWA Young Labor and I’m always encouraging people to get up and speak about topics they are passionate about,” she said.
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READ NOW“Political disengagement among young people is a big issue; so many of us are apathetic about the process and a big part of that is feeling like our views are not represented.
“The Youth Parliament program is great because it gives young people a chance to get together and discuss things that are important to us and also present our views to sitting politicians.”
An active Labor supporter, the irony of representing a seat in Liberal Party heartland is not lost on Miss Withers.
“I did have a chat with Dean Nalder last year to get an idea of the issues facing Alfred Cove and I also live in the electorate so I feel like I’m mostly across them,” she said.
“During Youth Parliament sitting politicians act as Speaker of the House and others will come in to watch.
“It’s good to speak to them because sometimes they can be quite removed from young people; generally speaking we don’t go to their offices to discuss our issues.”
The 19-year-old is currently completing a Bachelor of Arts majoring in political science and international relations and law and society at UWA, with an assured place in law post-grad.
She was head girl of Santa Maria College in 2014 and hopes to one day carve out a career as a lawyer or in politics.
“I am extremely passionate about the environment, in particular investment in renewable energy sources,” Miss Withers said.
“I am also passionate about gender equality and believe that there should not be gender disparity in Parliament.”
Youth Parliament camp runs from July 3 to July 8, with Parliamentary sittings on Monday July 4, Tuesday July 5, and Thursday July 7.