Hobson's Bay Population

‘Children/ Young people, after all, are not just adults-in-the-making. They are people whose current needs and rights and experiences must be taken seriously.’

- Alfie Kohn

Youth policy is defined as ‘anything that government do to regulate, educate, inform or coordinate the population of young people aged between the ages of ten and twenty five (Bessant, Sercombe & Watts 1998). Youth as a life stage is a transitional process. This change is from adolescence to independence and adulthood. Local government play a role in youth policy for their local areas. Local government is the third level of government structure. Local government is known to be a strong advocate for young people (Hill & Nabben, 2004). This is due is to local government

being closest to the community compared to other levels of government.
Local government play a unique and critical role (Hill & Nabben 2004). Local government has different roles. The first is local government is involved in youth engagement. This is due to this part of government being “closest to the people” (Hill & Nabben 2004). Another role of local council is about providing local democratic participation. This then provides access to active citizenship which is a priority of council (Hill & Nabben 2004). Local government can be powerful advocates on youth issues to other levels of government (Hill & Nabben, 2004). There will be two local councils discussed in this essay. The first is Hobson’s Bay City Council. The second is Wyndham City Council. What will also be discussed is the strengths and weaknesses of these two councils.
Hobson’s Bay Mission is to plan, deliver and advocate for the services and infrastructure.

This will achieve a healthy, connected and sustainable future (Hobson’s Bay Council 2013). Their youth demographics are about different things. These demographics include population, ethnicity and income (Chadwick 2007). According to Chadwick (2007) the following are a few demographics of Hobson’s Bay. The first is there are 14,000 young people living in Hobson’s bay. Young people make up 17% of Hobson’s Bay population. The second is 1650 young people aged 15-24 were born overseas. The third is 2,200 young people receive Centrelink payments. Half of the young people are full time students and 670 are unemployed. The fourth is 1,100 young people were identified as at risk and

disengaged.
Hobson’s Bay youth strategy was created to improve the lives of young people. The first thing this policy provides is leadership through meeting the services needs of young people (Hobson’s Bay 2013). This is achieved through service planning, coordination, advocacy and infrastructure support (Hobson’s Bay 2013). The second thing is opportunities for young people to contribute and participate. This is achieved through young people being recognized and valued as citizens Hobson’s Bay 2013). The last thing is young people need is support. This is achieved through .engaging through community and those around them as a support network (Hobson’s Bay 2013).
Wyndham City council are committed to ensuring young people have opportunities.

These opportunities provide a chance to engage and participate. Wyndham’s youth plan is a policy that sets out strategy and actions for council to meet the needs of young people (Semann & Slattery n.d.). Similar to Hobson’s Bay, Wyndham demographics are around different areas. For example the population of young people is 28,883 (Wyndham City, 2014). Young people represent 17.6% of Wyndham’s population (Wyndham City, 2014). 13.2% of young people were classed as unemployed. Young people make up 14.5% of the total number of people in the work force. 60% of young people have a year 12 or higher qualification (Wyndham City, 2014). The youth issues in Hobson’s Bay surround different

areas.
For example lack of youth facilities, opportunities and activities for young people. Another example is young people want a chance to be included within their community (Hobson’s Bay Council 2013). This can be achieved through participation and connection to the community. Other issues faced by young people are bullying, family conflict, unemployment and mental health (Hobson’s Bay Council 2013). Whereas Wyndham youth issues are related to six areas. These areas are alcohol & other drugs, sexual & mental health, violence & bullying, diversity and equity issues (Semann & Slattery n.d.). Both Wyndham and Hobson’s Bay have created these policies to address these issues through actions.
There are four key themes within the Wyndham youth plan. The first is meeting the complex needs of young people (Semann & Slattery n.d.). Within this policy what was identified was mental health, homelessness and bullying. The second theme is accessing support early. Early intervention through accessing information, resources and support could prevent issues from getting worse (Semann & Slattery n.d.). The third theme is creating community connectedness. This is about young people being valued and heard by their community. This promotes a sense of belonging and engagement. The last theme is promoting an integrated approach (Semann & Slattery n.d.).
Both Wyndham and Hobson’s Bay have different policy approaches. Hobson’s Bay policy approach is a whole of government youth policy. This approach is about local government working across portfolio boundaries to achieve a shared goal (MAC 2004: 1). This is government’s response to a particular issue. Hobson’s Bay council focuses on policy development, program management and service delivery (Commonwealth of Australia, 2004 p.1). Hobson’s Bay policy was formed after many consultations. These involved young people, parents and stakeholders in the community. From these consultations five areas emerged. These are leadership, spaces, connection/participation, transitions and health (Hobson’s Bay Council 2013.).
The approach of Wyndham City Council is a community youth plan. There is a joint partnership between Wyndham Council and the community. Through this partnership they address the issues in their local area (Semann & Slattery n.d.). It’s also about delivering a coordinated service to their young people. Wyndham’s approach promotes an integrated system by working together (Semann & Slattery n.d.). This will better the delivery service of young people. This is a strength of this approach to policy. The Australian policy cycle also plays a role in these policies.
This policy cycle consists of eight steps. This approach frames policy making by going through the series of steps to implement social outcome. Both Wyndham and Hobson’s Bay have identified the issues within their area. A policy analysis must have been conducted by both local councils. Wyndham and Hobson’s Bay councils have approaches to address the issues. Consultations were conducted to collect information and data. These policies impact different policy instruments. These include young people, parents and stakeholders. Both local councils regularly review and evaluate their policy objectives.
The effectiveness of these policies depends on implementing the actions set. Hobson’s Bay Council has strengths and weaknesses in relation to their policy. A strength of this policy would be it’s up to date and current. Another strength is the policy addresses current issues young people face. Another strength is the policy uses the Victorian charter of human rights and responsibilities. This is important because it values young people as ‘human beings’. Young people tend to be overlooked within the community and so do their rights. But this policy acknowledges their rights as citizens. Such as their right to freedom, respect, equality and dignity.
Another strength of this policy is that it’s regularly reviewed. This means that they continue to make sure the policy is implementing change or if it needs to be changed. A weakness of this policy is it doesn’t acknowledge the Code of ethics. If it did it would strengthen this policy by including the principles. For example the empowerment of young people. This could be achieved through creating more opportunities for youth development. Similarly Wyndham City Council also has these strengths which makes it effective. A weakness for Wyndham City Council is that it doesn’t acknowledge or mention rights or the code of ethics.
The strengths of Wyndham policy are it works to empower young people. This policy works towards young people to learn and take responsibilities for their actions. Another strength is it identifies the issues young people face. Another strength is this policy is reviewed as well. Constant review shows how effective this policy is. It also views if this policy is making change or not doing anything. Asking questions like Is it meeting the needs of the young people? will implementing these policies create solutions to these issues?.
In conclusion both of these policies were created to help improve the lives of young people. Both policies address and identify the issues young people in their local area. Through these policies possible solutions or actions have been created to address these issues. Overtime and change these policies could impact the lives of young people. However they have to be implemented not just written. Participation is very important. Especially in areas like youth policy. Getting the chance to say or do something that affect young people provides a sense of contribution. In return this provides an opportunity for change. Young people being a part of policy can really change things in the future.

References:
- Alfie Kohn- Young people quote, viewed 2nd of September 2014,
.

- Bessant, J, Sercombe, H & Watts, R 1998, Youth studies: an Australian perspective, Addison Wesley Longman, South Melbourne, pp. 67-83 & 304-320.

- Chadwick, D, 2007, Youth profile: Being young in Hobson’s Bay, viewed 2nd of September 2014,
.

- Hobson’s Bay City Council, Council Plan 2013, viewed 2nd of September 2014,
- .

- Hobson’s Bay City Council, Youth Strategic Plan 2009-2013, viewed 2nd of September 2014,
.

- Nabben, R, Hill, R 2004, Engaging with Young People Local Government in Action. A Companion document to “Connecting Young People in Local Communities – A Guide for the Development of a Local Government Youth Charter”, December, 2014.

- Slattery & Semann, Wyndham Youth Plan 2013-2017, viewed 2nd of September 2014,
.

- System governance, Public sector governance in Australia, viewed 2nd of September 2014,
.

- Whole of government responses, 2004, viewed 2nd of September 2014,
.

- Wyndham City, 2014, A demographic profile of Wyndham and it’s young people, viewed 2nd of September 2014,
.