Taking the lead

Harriet de Kok and Sophie Jamieson (Australian Young Greens co-convenors)

This year's Australian Young Greens Conference was held in late September in Adelaide at the Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute — Australia's oldest Aboriginal-owned and managed multi-arts centre.

This is the first conference of its kind to be held in a non-East Coast state in its four-year history. The conference drew Young Greens from around the country, and provided a valuable opportunity to network and learn about various aspects of policy, campaigning and activism prior to the upcoming Federal Election. The theme of this conference was 'Take the Lead' and encouraged conference delegates to bring their weekend experiences home and take the initiative within their local groups.

The conference itself primarily comprised of workshops run by Young Greens, including a panel discussion on Young Candidates featuring Malwina Wyra, Simon Burnett and new Senator Robert Simms. Other workshops included a presentation on Effective Altruism and Ethics, Building and Maintaining Campus Groups, a discussion on the use of Facebook groups, a presentation on the energy sector, a Strategic Questioning workshop and Economic Statistics 101. The Monday morning featured a discussion workshop on 'How can the Australian Young Greens take the lead during the Federal Election Campaign?'.

Invited guest speakers included Peter Drew (Real Australians Say Welcome) who spoke on 'Courage to Combine' and Josie McLean (Managing Director, The Partnership) talked about 'Leading from anywhere: How to lead more effectively and last the distance'.

Greens MPs featured throughout the weekend, including Jenny Leong MP running a workshop on 'Taking the Lead on Renter's Rights', a panel on 'Women in Politics' with Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, Tammy Franks MLC and Dr Mehreen Faruqi MLC. Senator Richard Di Natale spoke in Adelaide for the first time as Leader of the Greens as part of his national tour.

Arguably the highlight of the conference was the debate between Young Greens and Greens MPs on 'A quarter-life crisis is the new mid-life crisis'. The line up featured Walter Marsh, Sean Cullen-MacAskill and Malwina Wyra versus former Senator Penny Wright, Jenny Leong MP and Senator Scott Ludlam. This provided a rare opportunity to see what the Young Greens and Greens MPs really thought of each other in a hilarious, yet still thought provoking argument.

No conference is complete without an opportunity for networking, with pre-conference welcome drinks at Parliament House and Saturday night event on the rooftop of Sarah Hanson-Young's office. Often these events are the only opportunities for Young Greens to form lifelong friendships with their comrades from interstate.

The conference also welcomed a new team of Office Bearers to the Australian Young Greens. Harriet de Kok and Sophie Jamieson are honoured to be elected as the Australian Young Greens Co-convenors for 2015-2016.

In their nominations, they each presented ideas of fostering inclusiveness and promoting diversity in the Australian Young Greens. Sophie and Harriet seek to develop the Australian Young Greens into a body which:

1. Offers a safe place for young people to be heard and contribute to the political discussion
2. Provides an entry point for young people to get involved with youth policy and campaigns and
3. Supports and develops young women and those who face societal oppression in the political arena.

To do this, Sophie and Harriet, over the next 12 months, look forward to working in consultation with all members to develop, grow and improve the Australian Young Greens — including increasing membership and expanding the Australian Young Greens as a working group of the Australian Greens.

A big congratulations also goes to Samuel Miles elected as Secretary, Michael Holian as Treasurer, and Pat Dollard and Vanamali Hermans as Campaign Coordinators. Harriet and Sophie look forward to collaborating with the newly elected Office Bearers, as well as State and Territory Young Greens bodies to build strong campaigns through a nationally coordinated approach.

It was fabulous to have so many contested positions within the Australian Young Greens this year, and Sophie and Harriet would like to thank the other co-convenor nominees, Jillian Thomsen, Simon Burnett and Patrick Wright for running a strong and fair campaign. They also thank the outgoing office bearers for their dedicated service to the Australian Young Greens.

Sophie and Harriet look forward to collaborating with all members and supporters to drive the youth voice within the Australian Greens and hope to fulfil their responsibilities with transparency and confidence.  

About Harriet

Harriet is a member of the Adelaide branch in South Australia. She is involved in a number of organisations, campaigns and programs with a focus on healthcare, women and LGBTIQ people. She first started volunteering with the Greens in early 2014 at the South Australian state election and joined as a member shortly after. Like many people the issue of Australia's treatment of asylum seekers was the main issue that brought her over to the Greens. She is excited about the possibility of increasing the engagement of women and LGBTIQ people (and LBTIQ women especially) in the Australian Young Greens and ensuring that they feel empowered to speak and pursue campaigns they are interested in and have their voice heard.

About Sophie

Sophie is a member of the Stonnington branch in Victoria and is passionate about increasing the youth voice in the political debate. She became involved with the Victorian Young Greens at the beginning of the year and since has helped facilitate workshops to plan Victorian Young Greens campaign events and been a part of organising a women's networking evening with Victorian MPs. Sophie believes the Australian Young Greens are in a unique position to establish itself as an entry point for young people to get involved in politics. She looks forward to developing the Australian Young Greens as a safe place where young people are empowered to advocate for the issues and policies they feel passionate about.