E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW – 2CC – Afternoons with Leon Delaney
Wednesday 8 September 2021
SUBJECT: Raise your voice in Parliament
LEON DELANEY, PRESENTER: Yes, it's around about 23 to six and young people in the federal seat of Eden-Monaro have been encouraged to reach out and get their voices heard in Parliament. There is a competition being conducted where somebody under the age of 21 will have their work selected as the winner, and their speech will be read out in the parliament, which sounds like actually a really good idea. Federal member for Eden Eden-Monaro Kristy McBain Good afternoon.
KRISTY MCBAIN, MEMBER FOR EDEN-MONARO: Good afternoon, Leon. How are you?
DELANEY: Pretty well. Thanks for joining us today. Now this idea where did it come from? And obviously, you're the one who's going to read the speech out aren’t you?
MCBAIN: Yeah, that's right. It's some fabulous social enterprise called Raise our Voices Australia. They work with training and mentoring young people. And this is one of their initiatives, and I was more than happy to jump on board. I actually think it is a fantastic idea to get more people engaged in the political process, especially young people. And I'm really keen to see what entries we end up with.
DELANEY: So who can enter is it just anyone under 21? And what rules do they need to follow? Is there a word limit? Is there a topic that says what's what are the what are the rules?
MCBAIN: Yes. So there are some guidelines around it. It’s for people under 21 and they are really encouraging young women or people that identify as non-binary to enter. The topic is the future of Australia. And it will be read out in our electorate statements. So it has to be under 90 seconds, so I can get it out in that time.
DELANEY: 90 seconds. Now, that's not a speech. That's an advertisement.
MCBAIN: I do a lot of these 90 second speeches because they are short, sharp, and people will engage with them. It's really hard to get people to engage when you drone on for too long, isn't it?
DELANEY: Well, it can be. What are you suggesting there though? Kristy, what are you suggesting? 90 seconds. I think that's about, depending on how fast you read it, but probably about 200 to 220 words.
MCBAIN: That's right. Around 220 words, and it can on a whole range of different topics. It could be about education, employment, mental health, access to opportunities in the regions, telecommunications, climate change the pandemic, it could be a whole range of things that you could fit under that category of the future of Australia. And as I said, I'm really looking forward to it.
DELANEY: Yeah, I'd be no good. Because when I was in high school, and they asked me to write a 300 word essay, I'd give them 600. I just couldn't do it.
MCBAIN: Look, it can be really difficult trying to get out what you need to get out in 90 seconds.
DELANEY: Yeah, absolutely. It's a real challenge. And, you know, if that was my problem, then I mean, look at me. Now here I am. Talking on the radio, spouting words like you wouldn't believe. Okay, so how do how do kids get involved in this because it's a terrific idea.
MCBAIN: Simply email your speech through, you can also go on to the Raise our Voices Australia website, and there'll be a whole bunch of details there. We'll make sure we get some details up on our social media and our website for people think it's really important because, you know, there has been a lot that's been changing over the last couple of years. And this pandemic will impact young people for many years to come, especially as we hit a trillion dollars in national debt, and I encourage people to have a think about it. In my house trying to do that the learning from home and working from home has been interesting, but I've told my kids that I'd love them to write me a paragraph or two about what they would do if they were Prime Minister for the day. So happy for any of the school kids out there to write to me and let me know what they’d do if they were Prime Minister for a day as well. I think it's really important that we are, talking as much as we can, especially with our younger generations about what the future of Australia is going to be post pandemic.
DELANEY: Okay so if kids want to get involved, is there a deadline they have to have this work submitted by?
MCBAIN: Yeah it is coming up around mid-September. So, it's not a huge amount of time.
DELANEY: Oh, here we go. September 21. It says here.
MCBAIN: September 21. And the speeches will be collated, and a winner chosen and read out during the parliamentary sitting period. That comes up in mid-October.
DELANEY: Fantastic now I believe after you finish speaking with me you're headed off to a meeting with some people in your electorate about the National Broadband Network. What's the issue?
MCBAIN: Yeah, that's right, in Jerrabomberra, just out near Queanebeyan they had this amazing NBN rollout fibre to the premise, which was fantastic. And then another part of Jerrabomberra, were hoping to get the same roll last, but before the contract was signed, there was a change in government. So they got fibre to the node. And they have since discovered that, low and behold, the fibre to the premise was going to be much better for that area. So they are going to go through parts of Jerrabomberra now and retrofit that fibre to the premise. So the NBN representative will be discussing with our community members, that rollout timeframe what it means for them, is there any cost involved? And when they can expect some better speed?
DELANEY: Yes, well, at the risk of rehashing history, it was always obvious that fibre to the node was only half the job done.
MCBAIN: That's exactly right half the job done and now going back and doing it is costing us a couple more billion dollars. So, you know, we seem to be racking up the cost when we should have just done it right and got it rolled out in the first place. But we can't change history now. It is what it is. And at least there is some recognition that this is a much better system and parts of Jerrabomberra will now get that upgrade.
DELANEY: Fantastic, thanks very much for chatting today
MCBAIN: Thanks Leon.
DELANEY: Kristy McBain the Federal Member for Eden-Monaro.
ENDS
