That was the clear message that came out when students at Coonamble Public School and Coonamble High School spoke with the NSW Advocate for Children and Young People, Andrew Johnson earlier this week.

Mr Johnson was impressed with the passion the students displayed and the detail they gave in their responses.

“We are promoting participation of children in communities and in the communities’ future,” Mr Johnson said. 

“The students we spoke to were very clear and positive with what they wanted and gave us some great feedback. 

“The big thing to come out of it was to be respected, be listened to and be included in decision making in the community.” 

The state government is in the process of conducting information gathering sessions at schools throughout NSW, and plan to spend as much time as possible in the western area of the state. 

They will be back in Dubbo in a couple of months and will continue to consult with schools between now and then. 

Once all the consulting is done, the information will then be collated and presented to government departments who can then make accurate decisions on allocations of funding and services. 

“It isn’t so much about doing research but more on ideas of what youth want,” Mr Johnson said. 

“As an example we’ve got strong feedback from Coonamble about needing more structured activities for kids outside of school hours. 

“Once we have that information we will put it to the government departments and say this is what they (kids) want, lets make it happen.”