1.    When and why did you decide to become a politician?
Since I was born, I was always put in the position of having to give my political opinion about any ethical, political and moral issues that arose. The main reason for this was because my father is the late founder of the Australian Democrats, Don Chipp. From a very early age I was interested in politics and always dreamed of being elected to parliament and give my perspective on unfair parliamentary practices and bring back some commonsense and social justice. However, very recently due to the large shift to conservatism, intolerance and discriminatory legislative practices, I’ve felt that now is the time for me to get my voice and Australian Democrat policies heard because many important issues are being neglected by the political parties.

2.    What do you think are the issues that matter to young people?
Many youth issues are being overlooked in parliament. Some issues that I see – and have discussed with many of my friends – that are very important to the youth are the environment, VSU, increase in full fee university placements – which makes it harder to access cheaper education – mental health and depression, poverty alleviation and same sex entitlements.

3.    How do you plan to address these issues?
Democrat policies allow me to focus on the social justice issues that are important to me. We have hundreds of policies that are fair, unbiased and don’t leave out any group, which is very different from all of the other parties. For example, getting rid of the 58 unfair laws that infringe on same sex couples in tax, Centrelink and health care legislation.

4.    How do you engage with young people to find out what issues matter to them?
You ask them. The best strategy for a candidate is to understand what issues are important to the youth, and then address them by suggesting policy ideas in parliament, or lobby the councils/government on their behalf.

5.    What did you care about when you were a young voter?
Poverty alleviation, mental health and the fact that young people’s views are not being represented in Parliament. I felt no one even bothers to listen to the youth – even now.

6.    What is your opinion of young people in Australia?
Young Australians are fantastic. They are very open-minded, caring and considerate. Groups like the Oaktree Foundation show a continuing emphasis on social justice awareness. However, there is not as much passion for politics as there once was, which makes you wonder why many young people don’t care much anymore?

7.    How do you think our political system can better engage with younger voters?
The youth need to get out there and make themselves heard about the issues that are important to them. However, there is not a lot of passion and public outrage as there once was a few decades ago. I think the youth feel a bit helpless because no one listens to them. The elected politician’s must play an active role in not underestimating the youth. The youngest female to ever sit in the Australian Senate was Natasha Stott Despoja, the Australian Democrats candidate and she was 26. She was very successful in pushing youth and women’s rights issues into political debate. But the parliament does need to start listening to the youth, or the youth will continue not to care much about politics, which is a really saddening thought.

8.    What are the key long-term challenges facing Australia?
The environment is a main problem that the Democrats talked about 30 years ago, and, even now, not enough is being done. Due to the Howard government’s constant harsh legislation, Australia is in threat of becoming more intolerant and uncompassionate about social justice issues, which are leading to disunity and a lack of understanding within the public. Examples of this are issues including racial prejudice, homophobic opinions and a lack of acknowledgement for our past with aborigines.

9.    If you could change one thing about Australia what would it be?
I would make social justice issues – such as poverty alleviation – on top of the agenda of all political parties. Politics is not just about managing the economy. It’s about helping people, particularly those less fortunate who find it harder to help themselves.

10.    Describe a time when your political opinion was challenged or changed.
Regularly people write me off and think that just because I care about social injustice issues and the environment that I am an ‘air headed hippy’ – to quote them. Since when does it mean that caring about society equates to your opinion not being valid because you care about other things than just the economy?