Young Voice Pushes For Stronger Future Across The Regions

By Hannah McNamara

Nate Ralph is among the many young voices eager to shape the future of the Mackay, Whitsunday and Isaac regions. As the Youth Member for Whitsunday in the 30th Queensland Youth Parliament, he has taken his seat in Brisbane this week to debate legislation and shine a spotlight on the challenges and opportunities facing regional Queensland.

For Nate, the role is not only symbolic, but a cornerstone of his passion for ensuring young people have a say in decisions that will affect their lives for decades to come.

“Getting involved and doing things for the community, especially young people is what i'm most passionate about. A lot of the time their voices aren't heard and it's quite difficult to reach them,” he said.

“What it can do having a young person standing up for their community is make it easier to talk to them from someone their age.”

Nate believes balancing youthful ambition with the wisdom of experience is key.

“I think it's because, we are the future, but it's also about getting the right balance… listening to the wisdom of the older generations and putting that with our ideas, our hopes and our dreams,” he said.

Among his top priorities is improving the Bruce Highway, a lifeline for regional families and businesses.

“Roads infrastructure is really, really important, especially in regional areas and I spent a lot of times on the roads traveling to see family and some of the roads that we have to travel on are absolutely horrendous."

“The damage that they can do is absolutely insane… that’s why it’s so important to fix them, so everyone can get where they need to be safely.”

Nate is also passionate about seeing more of Queensland’s mining royalties reinvested locally. He is backing a Youth Parliament bill to direct 25 per cent of resource royalties into regional areas.

“Using a percentage of the royalties, we can get a better deal for our region by investing more heavily into fixing our local services that aren't at the same standards they are in places like Brisbane or the southeast corner,” he explained.

“And it's really important that places like Mackay and the Whitsundays that do generate this revenue, get to take home a piece of their pie.”

Another concern is volunteering, which he sees as the backbone of community life.

“It's absolutely crucial we get more volunteers because they are what brings communities together,” he said.

“Often organisations don't have the people they need and they can't get things done, which eventually leads to people not having things to do in their community because there's no one willing to go out and do them.”

Connectivity is also top of mind, with Nate pointing out that digital access is now as essential as roads or services.

“Telecommunications is absolutely vital, especially for regional communities and especially getting the help you need when you need it,” Nate said.

"Everybody should have access."

Nate advocates for all young people who want to see change in their communities to just “Go ahead, and go for it.”

“Just get started, reach out to someone, get a group of your friends… and do something positive for your local community. It doesn't have to be a lot.”

As he debates in Brisbane this week, Nate hopes his voice can secure a fairer share for the region.

“I hope that my impact that I create will be a positive one… one that gets our fair share and gets people talking,” he said.

“People need to get involved… for the sake of our futures, and for the strength of our community.”

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Nate Ralph, Youth Member for Whitsunday, is in Brisbane this week debating legislation to amplify young voices and advocate for regional Queensland. Photos supplied

Nate stands for stronger regional infrastructure, fair use of royalties, improved connectivity, and empowering young people to get involved in their communities. Photo credit: Hannah McNamara

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