Should Young People Follow Australian Politics?

We all know politics is a pretty touchy subject.

Each of us have that one weird uncle who goes on about how ‘X’ or ‘Y’ has ruined the economy and is planning to turn Australia into a communist state, and everyone just sort of rolls their eyes and does the whole, “Yes Uncle Jeff, you’re so right” thing.

However, no matter how weird your own Uncle Jeff is or how far out his theories are, politics is actually pretty important, especially for us, the youth of Australia.

Now, a lot of readers will think teenagers should be worrying about homework or what’s happening this week on Keeping Up with the Kardashians. The thing is, we’re also affected by the laws and policies set by the people in power.

Okay, so if we’re under 18 we can’t actually vote and have a say in who’s sitting on the metaphorical throne (which I imagine to be very Game of Thrones-like), but it doesn't mean that we shouldn't talk to the people around us about what’s going on both in our area and in the wider Australia. I think it’s really important to have an understanding of what’s happening in our world, not only because these things might affect us, but because - gasp! - knowing about them makes us more interesting and well-informed people.

As teenagers, we usually get a pretty bad rep for being shallow and only interested in what’s going on in the lives of Melbourne’s (fabulous) housewives. We can be so much more. The next time Uncle Jeff rambles on about the PM, you can surprise everyone and be like: “Well, actually my dear Uncle, let me tell you…”

If I still haven’t convinced you that knowing about Aussie politics is going to make you look super cool (especially in the eyes of your Uncle Jeff), let me add this: if you follow politics now and get an understanding of how everything works, you could totally sit on the metaphorical throne at some point in the future. Because, really, that’s what we are: the future of our country.

The more young people who get into politics now, the more awesome and educated politicians there will be running Australia in fifteen, twenty years. Really, what’s cooler than going up to that kid who was mean to you in Year 8 for liking politics and the news and saying, “Hey, guess who's on the throne now?” and then cackling as you walk off into the distance in your snazzy suit?

This was the winning entry in a Writing Challenge. For your chance to win, check out our latest writing challenges in our Comps section. Also, be sure to follow this guide on how to win the writing challenge!