Young people should be empowered to create a better Aotearoa New Zealand and overcome the challenges created by previous generations.
Democracy must include young people
- Young people should have representation or a voice on local and community boards.
- The Local Government Act should require councils to resource Youth Councils and employ child and youth advocates.
- Civics, human rights, and environmental education should be taught in schools.
The health system should meet the needs of young people
- Improving youth mental health services should be an urgent government priority.
- Government should work towards providing free healthcare for all young people, including dental and mental health care, no matter where they live.
- Schools should teach comprehensive and evidence-based health, sex, and drug education.
- Young people, in particular young women, should have access to family planning services.
- Programmes for teen parents should be accessible, widespread, and well-funded.
Young people have a right to live free from violence
- Schools and early childhood centres should be inclusive and support the elimination of prejudice, racism, bullying intimidation, and violence.
- Schools and educational institutions should teach conflict resolution and reconciliation.
- Schools should partner with rainbow youth organisations to reduce violence and suicide in youth LGBTQI communities.
We should take an evidence-based, harm reduction approach to drug use
- Young people with addiction issues should have access to appropriate rehabilitation programmes designed specifically for young people.
- The legal age for purchasing alcohol should be 18.
- Personal cannabis use should be legal for people aged 18 and over.
Youth justice should be rehabilitative
- The age of criminal responsibility should be 14.
- No one under 18 should be held in a Police cell, or in a prison cell with adults.
- Small scale youth rehabilitation centres should be established.
- Family Group Conferences should be better resourced.
- Tikanga Māori and marae-based justice and rehabilitation approaches should be developed, funded, and used widely in sentencing, prisons, and other parts of the justice system.
