Thank you, honourable Chair.

I acknowledge that we meet here today on the traditional lands of the Lenape people, and recognise the first Nations People of Australia as the traditional custodians of the lands which I call home.

I have the privilege of coordinating the 25th year of Australia's largest annual youth consultation alongside UN Youth Australia. Through this national statement, I am humbled to be representing over 2,000 young Australians, their families, friends and communities. I thank the Australian Government or the opportunity.

Honourable Chair, young people today are aced with many interconnected challenges.

We, young people, note a growing struggle of covering basic living expenses and securing a home, due to a rising price of goods.

We observe first-hand the impacts of climate change on our communities. We notice a loss of biodiversity within natural parks and along the Great Barrier Reef, and a degradation of local water sources.

A lack of accessible healthcare in low income communities continues to entrench cycles of poverty.

Underfunding and teacher shortages persist within lower socio-economic areas and within our remote communities.

Honourable Chair, I list some of the core challenges to young Australians, as they are the key actors influencing our view of the world around us.

We understand that each challenge is not unique to Australia, and exists on a global scale. At the same time, we notice that challenges disproportionately

affect some young people more than others. Fewer opportunities or higher education and professional development are noted in rural areas, as compared to big cities. Greater struggles with finding safe housing and job security are noted among young women, LGBTQ+ youth, first Nations youth, and young people living with a disability.

We, as young Australians, worry that modern challenges will inhibit our ability to secure a prosperous future or ourselves. At the same time, we eel unable to meaningfully steer the direction of global efforts to combat the challenges - "[we] believe [young people] are capable of creating positive change, [but we] ear that [we] are not being [given the opportunity to]."

Chair, in addressing the core issues of today, the Australian youth seek action grounded in three principles:

Firstly, we seek proactive global collaborations to meaningfully address the intersectionality and complexity of common challenges. The recent Summit of the future was a testament to the collective strength of the United Nations system to address interconnected global challenges. The Pact is a significant achievement in intergenerational global governance, as it shows genuine interest by the international community to act alongside future generations. We need to continue this momentum.

Secondly, we want UN global efforts towards common challenges to be more visible to young people. UN Youth Australia's consultations noticed a lack of awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals, 2030 Agenda, and the Summit of the future among young Australians. Meaningful participation requires a greater awareness of current initiatives.

Finally, we want to see the incorporation of youth-led local initiatives into global strategies. International decision-making is often inaccessible to young people, because it occurs outside of our local community. Young people thus resort to creating our own initiatives, to address the challenges we ace. Locally-led development strategies are thus necessary or the UN to ensure that multilateral efforts reach the demographics they are designed or, that they remain relevant to local challenges, and that they include young people meaningfully in the realisation of common goals.

To conclude, I refer to a statement delivered by Australia's minister or Foreign Affairs Penny Wong at the Summit of the future: "Our shared challenges are only getting bigger, but trust that this UN system can deliver or everyone continues to decline." The ability of our international community to enact meaningful change is dependent on the future generations trusting that we can. We can only overcome the challenges of today by opening the doors of policy-making and earning the trust of our future generations.