By Youth Advisory Group (YAG) member Mali Woods.

On the fifth anniversary, this years Have Your Say Day was held at Stella Maris College, once again giving young leaders from nine schools across the Beaches a chance to share what issues local youth are facing and give them a chance to propose solutions.

Leaders presented on 8 topics to over 100 attendees, which included, local, state, and federal government representatives, as well as organisations such as headspace, StreetWork and the Office for Youth. 

These were the issues raised by the group:  

Economy 

Two schools united to discuss young people’s fear of  the rising cost of living. Leaders underlined the anxiety related to not being able to continue to live on the Northern Beaches informing audience members of the median house price being $2.7-2.9 million. 

With the need for more money the need to work has increased, limiting social and academic lives, providing stress as young people feel required to support families with finance, having financial burden at a young age. 

To combat this, leaders proposed introducing financial lessons within both public and private schools so young people are armed with  knowledgeable and feel prepared when faced with difficult emotions surrounding the cost of living and money-based decisions. 

Third Spaces 

The speaker on third spaces began by highlighting the ongoing stigma surrounding vulnerability, particularly among young men.

He emphasised the importance of third spaces as safe environments that both support emotional expression and encourage physical activity, making them vital outlets for young people. However, he noted a key issue: being there are not enough of these spaces, and those that do exist are often underutilised.  

The solutions brainstormed were to allocate funding to  existing third spaces including host more community focused events such as the Northern Composure band competition, and have targeted surveys to young people related to the use of third spaces to better understand what is being used, what is wanted, and what is needed. 

Governance  

Students raised how young people feel left out of important initiatives, stating that the few consultations the government has with young people feel like a novelty, creating a sense of disconnection between decision makers and young people.

This is a problem as it causes the young people to become disengaged, meaning young people are undereducated in regard to politics and civic engagement. 

Ideas suggested included making existing engagement opportunities catered to young people more visible and requiring civics education to be taught long before voting age. 

Other issues 

Other issues covered topics such as transport, addiction, mental health, environment, and education. All topics were further expanded on in the Q&A section, where audience members could inquire further, and leaders responded impromptu, providing mature and valuable insight on behalf of their peers. 

The results of the 2026 Have Your Say Day survey and full transcripts of speeches will be collated into a report and made available on Council’s website. 

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