Here's where e-Democracy hits the ground running! As part of our exciting new Online Question Time initiative, we're inviting kids from all over Australia to put their elected representatives on the spot, and ask them about the issues that matter to the young people of  Australia.

OTHER GUESTS OF 'QUESTION TIME':

• Hon Chris Pearce MP [0], Member for Aston (Victoria)
• Jodie Campbell MP [0], Federal Member for Bass (Tasmania)

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Our next guest is Patrick Secker MP [1], Member for Barker, Liberal Party of Australia.

Patrick Secker was elected to the House of Representatives for Barker, South Australia, in 1998. Prior to that, he was a primary producer for over 20 years and has also worked as a small business retailer. He also served as a Councillor on several local district councils between 1981 and 1992. Patrick holds a Bachelor of Economics from Flinders University.

http://www.patricksecker.com [2]

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The following questions were submitted by the students of Renmark High School [3] and Tintinara Area School [4].

QUESTION TIME FOR PATRICK SECKER STARTS NOW

Courtney Cinc and Erin Pick, Year 12 students from Renmark High School, ask: Mr Secker, do you think raising the price of alcoholic drinks (RTD's) will stop or reduce the amount of teenagers binge drinking?

PS: No. The Rudd Government's decision to lift the excise by 70 per cent on pre-mixed drinks will not stop or reduce teenage binge drinking. It is just an extra tax on Australians and many will simply drink higher alcohol-content spirits.

I am concerned that the extra $2 billion raised by the hike in taxes on pre-mixed drinks will not go to alcohol programs to address the real causes of binge drinking. 

My suggestion is to lower the alcoholic content of pre-mixed drinks and give an incentive by way of reducing the excise.

Gariella Golding, Year 12 student from Renmark High School, asks: Do you think that the court system should allow juries to explain both guilty and not guilty verdicts when presiding over a criminal case in Australia?

PS: No, a person cannot be half-guilty, and a jury's decision should be final and free from harassment.  Juries are already obliged to follow the law and should not be subject to pressure from any source. 

Recognition of our freedoms of religion, peaceable assembly and speech also apply to the exercise of jury power, wielded by a jury unintimidated by government judges. 

However, I am aware of the difficulties this places on the community who feel their rights have not been met by what seems to be an unfair outcome.

Intimidation of juries is not the answer. Rather, State Governments who are responsible for crimes legislation, should review of the appropriateness of the laws dealing with the specific crime to ensure that persons cannot avoid or evade prosecution because of the inadequacy of the law.

Alicia Warnock, Year 12 student from Renmark High School, asks: Do you think that the morals and values shown in films and expressed in music videos adversely affect younger generations of teenagers?

PS: I believe we do not give young Australians enough credit for their intelligence and ability to make their own moral judgment.  Music can summon a range of emotions,   and from infancy to adulthood, it is an integral part of our lives. 

While there is some music that communicates potentially harmful health messages, I do not believe that ccensorship of music is the answer. 

As a community it is parents, teachers, government and community leaders who should lead by example in fostering and encouraging young Australians' morals and values.

The music video industry should be encouraged to produce videos and public service messages with positive themes about relationships, racial harmony, drug avoidance, non-violence and conflict resolution, alcohol use and sexual activity. 

Caleb Karvountzis, Year 12 students from Renmark High School, asks: Mr Secker, how will teacher shortages shown recently in the media affect teenagers and education in years to come? Will new incentives be offered from the government to encourage young people in schools to become teachers?

PS: I believe that if you find a good teacher you should reward them.  A good teacher they can change your life and by improving and recognising the skills of those teachers we can make a real difference.

Teachers should know that we value them and we value the outputs that they can get.

All of us I think could name a teacher who has had a significant influence in our lives one way or another and I think one of the problems is that State Governments haven't rewarded good teachers enough, and there has not been enough media coverage of their successes. 

How often do we see students pictured in the media for achieving high scores or who gain entry to their desired apprenticeship, but not one mention of the teachers who taught, supported and encouraged them.

If we improve teacher quality, and recognise it as a valued and well-rewarded profession, and offer them a pay system that rewards and recognises them on merit, it will encourage younger Australians to consider teaching as a career. 

I know for sure that just putting in computers in secondary schools without the funds to install and maintain them and actually make them work does nothing to help teachers.

Dimitrios Dimou, Sam Jones and Josh Howard, Year 12 students from Renmark High School, ask: How would you feel about Australia becoming a republic?

PS: I am neither a Monarchist nor a Republican - I am a Constitutionalist.  This means I am about a system that works, based on the collective sovereignty of the people of Australia and puts into law collective values and principles.

Bill Traeger, a Year 10 student from Tintinara Area School, asks: Do you support the decision to withdraw Australian troops from Iraq?

PS: Australia went over to not only make Iraq a safer and more secure place, but to work with the Iraqis to rebuild their nation, and we have been doing that in training the Iraqi  troops and their security forces, as well as  building schools.

Much of that work has been completed and the tasks handed over to the Iraqi government and troops who are now in a much better position to maintain their own security.

I believe that the conditions in Iraq are such that the job of the 550-member Overwatch Battle Group, based in southern Iraq, is complete and these troops can now be brought home.

Leigh Watson, a year 10 student from Tintinara Area School, asks: Do you believe that the apprenticeship scheme is outdated and that in the light of skill shortages that they are unrealistically underpaid?

PS: It is very important that we support apprentices through their training.  The ageing of the population and the States having overly-concentrated on courses of education with TER outcomes only, result in the current skills shortage.

Earlier this year, I was outraged when the Rudd Labor Government decided to abolish the Apprenticeship Incentives for Agriculture and Horticulture programme and the extension of the Living Away from Home Allowance to Australian School-based Apprentices, while city-based apprentices continued to receive these allowances.  It was a direct hit on young rural Australians and it made absolutely no sense in addressing the skills shortage.

By providing financial incentives as we did in government such as $800 for tool kits, and $1,000 to help with training fees, many young Australians were on their way to completing their apprenticeship.  Labor's abolishing these for rural apprentices shows they do not understand the importance of supporting apprentices throughout their training.

I do not believe the apprenticeship scheme is outdated. 

Many young Australians will not be able to sustain the rigours of achieving a high TER score and for them, University entrance is not a viable option.  For many, the ability to combine time at work with training, either full-time, part-time or school-based is the best option to achieve their goals of achieving well paid, skilled employment which addresses local labour market needs.

Elish Kendrick, a year 10 student from Tintinara Area School, asks: What solutions would you propose to curb youth suicide and self harm in the light of the report released this week by the Institute of Health and Welfare [5]?

PS: Preventing youth suicide remains a high priority. Nothing is more heartbreaking than a young person ending their life abruptly, before it has even properly begun.

I know that for me my parliamentary colleagues, it is our duty to attempt to prevent suicide.  We are obligated to protect our young Australians, sometimes even from themselves. We are determined to prevent the terrible impact of a suicide, in particular youth suicide.

Youth suicide is a largely hidden national tragedy which is difficult to grapple with. I believe that Summits and talk fests are of limited use and give no hope to the vulnerable.

Governments which address the ongoing problem of youth unemployment, particularly in rural and regional Australia, go a long way to returning confidence and hope to young Australians and faith in the future of their nation.

Governments must fund strategies which are based on promotion, prevention and early intervention; improving mental health services; providing opportunities for increased recovery and participation in the community and employment, including through more stable accommodation; providing better coordinated care; building workforce capacity and providing a seamless and inter-connected care system.

I was part of the Howard Government which introduced the National Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy [6], because we were alarmed that for predominantly rural and regional young men, suicide seemed to them the only answer to their desperation, all too commonly chosen. 

Young Australians have a right not to have to live with that fear.  Although we are no longer in Government, the success of the National Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy which actually reduced the frequency of suicide means it must continue to be funded, and I assure you I will be fighting hard for this.

Chris Meyer, a year 10 student from Tintinara Area School, asks: What solutions is your government proposing to tackle child obesity? And how can Tintinara get a Skate Park?

PS: I believe childhood obesity is a looming health crisis for Australian children and there are a number of different methods of attacking this difficult issue. Governments cannot and ought not to interfere unnecessarily in people's lives but I endorse any school curriculum policy that will engage in a certain level of physical activity during school hours.

This will go a long way to mitigating the problem of childhood obesity before it becomes an epidemic and before unhealthy children become unhealthy adults.

When in Government, I actively supported our $116 million program, Building a Healthy and Active Australia [7], to address the problem. We did this through:

* Active After-school Communities [8] physical activity program in schools.
* Active School Curriculum [9] where the funding conditions requiring education authorities to include in their curriculum at least two hours of physical activity per week for children in primary school and junior high school.
* Healthy School Communities [10] - we provided grants to community organisations linked with schools, such as parents' and citizens' associations, to promote healthy eating.
* Information for Australian Families [11] - we put nearly $11 million into an information campaign to give Australian families practical help and information about how to make healthy eating and physical activity part of their everyday lives.

Despite our efforts to encourage physical activity, we do not know yet whether federal and state Labor will continue our activities.

I think that a proposal for funding of the Skate Park in Tintinara could come under the Healthy School Communities Program, however we do not know if Labor will fund this.

You should talk to the local community about developing a proposal for a Skate Park in Tintinara, and then approach the local council to make a funding proposal with monies from the State and Federal Labor Governments.  If you wish, I will write you a letter of support for the project. 

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I would like to thank all the students and schools for their insightful and very challenging questions. I welcome you to contact my office at any time.

Patrick Secker MP
Federal Member for Barker

A local working for the locals

www.patricksecker.com [12]