SA SRC Campaign Position Briefs
Free Fares for Our Future
Members of the South Australian Student Representative Council (SA SRC) want all South Australian high school students to have free access to public transport.
Affordable, reliable, and safe transport is critical to young people’s participation, inclusion, and wellbeing. Young people rely on public transport to connect to school, sport, healthcare, work, volunteering opportunities and social activities. Yet the cost of South Australia’s public transport is prohibitive for many students and their families. This places disproportionate pressure on many school students, particularly those from low-income families and more senior school students who are living independently.
This position brief outlines the goals and methodology of the Free Fares for Our Future campaign, and provides a summary of the poll held across South Australian schools which assessed students’ thoughts on access to public transport and how free fares would change how they use it.
Our Future Our Vote
Members of the SA SRC want young people to have a say in the decisions that impact their lives and futures. It is important that young people’s voices are being heard, and that input from young people is included in decision making.
Lowering the voting age is an opportunity to make democracy fairer, improve civics education, recognise young people’s rights and strengthen young people’s participation in issues affecting them. The voting age has changed throughout history, and should continue to evolve to reflect the roles, responsibilities, and expectations of young people today.
This position brief outlines the goals and methodology of the Our Future Our Voice campaign, and provides a summary of the poll held across South Australian schools which assessed students’ attitudes towards greater civics engagement and lowering of the voting age.
Greening Our Canteens
Members of the SA SRC want all South Australian schools to be environmentally sustainable. This includes improving the waste and recycling practices of their school canteen to reduce food waste going to landfill and carbon emissions going into the atmosphere.
School canteens are important places where schools can show commitment to being environmentally sustainable. Students want school canteens that not only provide fresh and affordable food options, but which are also committed to eliminating the use of plastic packaging and reducing the volume of food and organic waste being sent to landfill. Currently, there is no state-wide approach being taken by government to support schools and their canteens to adopt environmentally sustainable practices. But this doesn’t mean that greening school canteens in South Australia is unachievable.
Fitness for Free
Members of the SA SRC want South Australian high school students to be granted free access to swimming pools, gyms, leisure centres and fitness classes.
Getting active and interacting with others helps young people maintain good mental health and assists them in managing the symptoms associated with mental illness, such as depression and anxiety, which are more prevalent among young people in high school. Every young person deserves access to spaces in which they can be physically and socially active, regardless of their financial situation, or where they live.
This position brief outlines the goals and methodology of the Fitness for Free campaign, and provides a summary of the poll held across South Australian schools which assessed students’ feelings and participation in recreational sport and fitness.
Seeing Ourselves
Members of the SA SRC want all South Australian schools to regularly undertake a review of their policies, curriculum and co-curricular groups, to ensure they embrace diversity and inclusiveness. Importantly, the review must be undertaken using mechanisms that involve students as co-designers and contributors.
Many young people do not see themselves in the texts or subjects they study, or in the holidays or events their school promotes and celebrates.
Although many schools are doing their best, they just don’t have the resources or tools they need to assess the scope of the situation, or the knowledge to determine what steps they could take to improve student inclusion.
Conducting regular diversity reviews would allow students and staff to self-assess their school’s inclusivity. The review results would provide insight into the diversity of their school community and with student input, help to determine what steps to take to make it more inclusive.
This position brief outlines the goals and methodology of the Seeing Ourselves campaign, and provides a summary of the poll held across South Australian schools which assessed students’ thoughts inclusivity and representation.