Despite the demands of leading the Government, Premier Eden Blair also devoted her efforts at Junior Parliament to her other role as Minister for Women’s Affairs. The Premier sponsored a policy to de-stigmatise the sex education curriculum, to include same-sex relationships and a less restrictive treatment of contraception.
In reforming the sex education curriculum, the policy hopes to expand the content and reduce the potential awkwardness of these lessons. One key aspect of the policy involves equipping parents not just with appropriate information on sexual health, but also techniques to communicate the subject matter to their children effectively. The policy also hopes to increase the use of contraception amongst young people, as research by the Women’s Affairs committee found that up to 50% of young people have engaged in unprotected sex. To combat this, the policy aims to teach young people that both men and women can be responsible for contraception. The Premier’s favourite part of the policy helps to break down institutional homophobia, by requiring all schools to teach students about same-sex, as well as heterosexual relationships.
When asked whether the age of the Junior Parliament could complicate the debate, given the adult subject matter, the Premier called on Junior MP’s to maintain the high standard of debate they had shown in other sessions. It is pleasing to note the sensitive and intelligent contributions from all Junior MP that debated the policy. Despite the demands of the Premier’s office, Blair credits her deputy, Sophia Wakeling, and the Women’s Affairs committee for their efforts in ensuring the policy and the Government are in safe hands.
After respectful debate, the YMCA NSW Junior Parliament voted in support of the Women’s Affairs policy to reform sex education in schools, by a margin of 41 ayes to 33 noes.
YMCA Youth & Government 