General News
29 November, 2024
Fountain of youth
MENTAL health is the number one concern of the young people of Cairns aged between 14 and 24.
According to the Cairns Regional Council’s 2024 Our Cairns Youth Survey, 70 per cent of youth were worried about mental health (50 per cent in the 2020 survey). Other key issues were crime 66 per cent (11 per cent in 2020) and money at 65 per cent (60 per cent in 2020).
This year’s survey received 1010 responses, compared to 1279 in 2020.
But what they liked the most about living in Cairns was natural outdoor areas to explore (72 per cent), the relaxed lifestyle (47 per cent) and great weather (46 per cent).
What made them embarrassed or sad was crime, including youth crime (31 per cent), lack of activities for youth (13 per cent) and environmental concerns/town is unclean/rubbish (10 per cent).
Of those attending school, 45 per cent said they planned to leave Cairns when their high school education was finished, with 49 per cent saying it was because their preferred study path was not available in Cairns, 43 per cent want to move to a bigger city and 37 per cent said they could not pursue the job/career they wanted in Cairns.
They said they would stay in Cairns if there was a lower cost of living (60 per cent), access to higher education and the courses they wanted to study (46 per cent) and more options for employment/career (38 per cent).
Cairns Mayor Amy Eden said young people were the future of the city.
Cr Eden said their voices were “invaluable in shaping a community that meets their needs and aspirations into the future”.
“The Cairns Youth Council has done an incredible job driving this survey and advocating for young people’s priorities,” she said.
“Their efforts remind us how important it is to empower youth to take an active role in building the Cairns they envision.
“(The) council is committed to listening, learning and incorporating these insights into our planning for the future.”
The youth council has presented key advocacy priorities to the council, calling for improved public transport access, greater arts and culture events and expanded youth development programs.
Cr Anna Middleton (Div. 7) told last week’s council meeting that the council needed to “bring on more concerts and more sporting events” to keep youth occupied. The survey showed that 60 per cent wanted more all-ages music festivals, major sporting events (48 per cent) and cultural events and festivals (41 per cent).
Cr Brett Moller (Div. 1) said it was “very sad’ that 70 per cent of young people rated mental health as a major issue as well as bullying (33 per cent).
“There is a lot of pressure on young people. Social media has a lot to answer for,” he said. Cr Moller said social media was clearly having an impact on young people, and social bullying and suicide was “very close to the bone”.
