CELEBRATING FIRST NATIONS CULTURE
News from Bryan Carswell
Indigenous Liaison Officer
St Augustine's College Cairns
A Year 10 Student Meets the PM After Winning an AIEF Competition
Saints student Thomas King, 14, has become the youngest winner of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation’s If I Was Prime Minister competition. Entrants share their vision for the future by presenting a videoed speech of what they would do as PM.
Thomas, from Thursday Island, spoke about how expensive it is to live and the lack of affordable housing. “Every single person … is feeling the direct pressure of the high cost of living … For example, in the islands a loaf of bread costs $8.50.”
“More and more people are without anywhere to call home because of the high cost of rent and lack of housing availability. Back in the island communities, we sometimes have about 3 to 4 families share a 3-bedroom unit.”
He is an advocate for the environment and waste management and wants policies surrounding them strengthened. “Recycling is the only way to control waste in Australia. This is especially important for the island communities where there is no land space to collect rubbish. Currently we have no recycling options available for island communities.”
The Year 10 student believes more must be done to tackle shoreline erosion and the effects of climate change on “the seabed, coral reefs and the hills where boulders are falling from the top of cliffs”.
“If we don't do anything now, we won't have anything left for generations to come.”
He described his first visit to Canberra with Director of Boarding Brett Toombs as “very busy” and meeting the Prime Minister as “very exciting”. He said Mr Albanese “seemed kind and polite”. He also met Indigenous affairs spokeswoman Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and attended an event to mark the 17th anniversary of the national apology to the Stolen Generations.
As a science enthusiast, Thomas hopes to study at university in Brisbane or Sydney and work with animals in the field of marine biology. Living in the Torres Strait, he loves diving, swimming and everything to do with the water.
