Young people are shaping the agenda for the next generation in the Moira Shire.
Madison McDiarmid is one of 10 young people across the shire to be part of the municipality’s Youth Council.
“One of my teachers from school gave me a flyer from the shire because she thought it’d be something I was interested in,” Madison said.
She’s looking forward to having the opportunity to advocate on behalf of young people in her community.
Specifically, she’d like to see more events brought to the shire for young people to enjoy.
“There are heaps of things, but if you’re wanting something different, you’ve got to travel,” she said.
“On weekends you’re kind of limited on what you can do at times.”
Earlier this month, Madison had the chance to share her ideas at the Youth Council’s first meeting.
“It was an introduction to what the council’s all about, meeting the Moira Shire and everyone else. It was good,” she said.
Madison joins several young people from across the Cobram-Barooga district on the Moira Youth Council, including Kiara Stephens (Barooga), Abigail Brooker (Barooga), Adithi Gurunathan (Cobram), Ben Hall (Tocumwal), Chloe Verlin (Katamatite), Elizabeth Cromack (Strathmerton) and Elly Slatterie (Cobram).
Together, the 10 members of the Youth Council will inform the Moira Shire Council on key issues affecting young people in the shire.
“I like being in the community,” Madison said.
“I think we’ve got a good community around here. I also like to keep busy, so I thought this would be a good thing to keep me busy while giving back to the community positively and developing skills.”
The last full Youth Council formed in 2019.
It comes after the Moira Shire Council announced it had received a $120,000 grant from the Victorian Government’s FReeZA Youth Program.