Inverell Shire Council has given the go ahead for a Youth Council for the shire which will give the region's youth a say in council's decisions.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A proposal for an Inverell Shire Youth Council by Max McFarlane was tabled at council's ordinary meeting on Wednesday, October 27 with councillors unanimously approving the formation of a Youth Council.
"This is a great opportunity for us as councillors to hear from the youth as to what are some of their passions and what drives them, and how we can engage with them to make our community more liveable and more engaging across every age sector of our community," Mayor Paul Harmon said.
"It also is an opportunity to encourage future leaders within our community and give them an insight into how council works."
Related reading: Astounding interest in creating youth council in Inverell
Cr Kate Dight was appointed as the council representative to the Youth Council.
As the school year is coming to nearer to a close and local government elections loom in December, it his hoped that the new Youth Council will be ready to run in 2022.
Max McFarlane, a year 11 student at Inverell High School, based his proposal on replicating most of Tamworth Regional Council's Youth Council structure.
Related reading: Inverell's Max McFarlane has big plans for his time in Parliament
"In the past we've had a version of youth council; we've had a lot of interest right at the start but that diminished over time, which is sad to see," Max said.
"However, to meet that need and to overcome having that interest died down, my proposal (to council) was to have school captains and the SRCs from each of the three main high schools in Inverell to lead and be actively involved - having that repetition over the years regardless of who leaves the council.
"At this stage it's just looking at the logistics of when it can be set up and establishing a formal structure for how it can be of use to the town," Max said.
Council also endorsed the old Youth Policy from the previous Youth Council days at the last meeting, however that policy needs to be "brought up to speed", Cr Harmon said.