The Australian Government’s Youth Steering Committee will support the establishment of the Office for Youth.
The Committee consists of 15 young people aged between 13 to 24. They represent the diversity of Australian communities, including First Nations people, LGBTIQA+ communities, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and people with a disability.
Members come from every state and territory in the Commonwealth and will support the establishment of the new Youth Engagement Model under the direction of Minister for Youth, the Hon Dr Anne Aly MP.
Member profiles
Anargya Djatikusumo (he/him)
Australian Capital Territory
Anargya Djatikusumo moved from Indonesia to Canberra in late 2019 and recently graduated from Hawker College. He is a representative and consultative member of the Hawker College Student Leadership Group and is a regular member for a youth conversation group hosted by the United States Embassy.
He sees the Youth Steering Committee as an opportunity to have influence over the government’s policy and advocate for the interests of young people. This includes the effective implementation of climate action and ensuring that every young person in Australia has equal access to quality education regardless of their socioeconomic background and ethnicity.
In becoming a member of the Youth Steering Committee, he hopes to work with the committee to ensure the voices of the young people are heard and acted upon by government.
Anhaar Kareem (she/her)
New South Wales
Anhaar Kareem is a 15-year-old, Australian Muslim woman of Egyptian heritage. Anhaar has taken her advocacy to media outlets such as ABC’s Q&A, the Guardian and AMUST News. Anhaar is the Founder of the Islamic Women’s Welfare Association (IWWA) Youth Committee and is a Wellbeing Health and Youth Commissioner. She has received multiple awards in public speaking including a national commendation from United Nations Youth Australia.
Anhaar is a champion of the intersections between the identities of Muslims, women, Arabs and the Western Sydney Community. She wants to be a voice for young Muslim women whose experiences are often undermined and hopes to contribute key insights into many of the problems that her community faces, including language barriers, prejudice and exclusion from major institutions such as the government or media.
Anhaar joined the committee due to her passion for representing young people from marginalised backgrounds. She views her role in the committee as an opportunity to create valuable consultation mechanisms between young people and government and would love to utilise this opportunity to tackle key issues young people are facing.
Billie Gray (she/her)
South Australia
Billie is 21 years old and lives in Renmark, South Australia. She is studying a Bachelor of Social Work. When she is not studying or working in her local coffee shop, she enjoys visiting the Murray River and spending time with her friends and family.
Billie joined the committee because she wants to put a spotlight on rural youth issues, particularly in regard to the unfair experiences and disadvantage that young people deal with in rural areas.
As a part of her membership to the committee, she would love to achieve a life that is easier for young people in rural areas of Australia by expanding equitable access to health services and further education opportunities including University. She wants young people to thrive in rural areas, having enough food to eat and somewhere safe to live.
Brodie Abrahams (he/him)
Western Australia
Brodie Abrahams is a 20-year-old student living in Perth, Western Australia. He is studying Economics and Data Science at Curtin University and works a casual job in retail. In his spare time he loves to run, make music, and read.
He has a keen interest in public policy, which is why he applied for a role on the Youth Steering Committee.
Having had experience in youth-led committees in the past, he understands the potential that the Youth Steering Committee has to enhance the lives of young people across Australia. He hopes that over the course of the committee’s tenure, he can learn, be exposed to, and be challenged with alternate views to his own and expand his teamwork and communication skills.
Cindy Liu (she/her)
Victoria
Cindy is a youth advocate passionate about increasing mental health literacy, disability rights and diverse representation. Through her focus on amplifying the voices and concerns of young people she has worked with various organisations exploring intersectional spaces, having worked with various organisations emphasising lived experience, co-design and self-determination. Through an intersectional lens, Cindy has worked closely with young people, CaLD communities, LGBTQIA+ communities and people with disability.
Dawyte Hart-O’Neill (they/them)
Northern Territory
Dawyte is a well-respected strong young leader in his community, having many years of experience working within different community sectors such as Mental health, Out of Home Care, intensive youth support and lived experience Peer Support education.
Dawyte has been a strong advocate for all vulnerable children and young people. He has been recognized and commended for his efforts locally and nationally.
Dawyte has established Freedom Fight Project NT, an independent child and youth advocate body to make sure young people’s voices are heard at the table especially vulnerable young people.
Dawyte is an aspiring social worker hoping to bring their lived experience to create change in the systems servicing young people to be more inclusive and holistic. Mental health and wellbeing outcomes for young people are one of his biggest passions and what he advocates for every day.
Emily Garrett (she/her)
Queensland
Emily Garrett is an undergraduate student studying a Bachelor of Regional and Town planning. Through her personal experiences, she has developed a keen interest in community development, inclusion, and environmental sustainability.
Fuelled by her passions for social justice, inspiring change, and service to others, she is excited to advocate, collaborate and share her ideas with the Youth Steering Committee and the Australian Government to shape the lives of current and future young people. As a great believer in the power of the youth voice, she wants to increase inclusivity and representation for young people in Australia.
By joining the Youth Steering Committee, she would like to meet like-minded young people who are equally passionate about the issues impacting young people. Additionally, she hopes to achieve meaningful change for young people by shaping policy decisions.
Eve Currie (she/her)
Australian Capital Territory
Raised on Wiradjuri country in Bathurst, NSW, Eve moved to Canberra, Ngunnawal and Ngambri country in 2019 to undertake a Bachelor of Political Science and Bachelor of Business Administration at the Australian National University. Eve volunteers as Leadership Competition Director for Country to Canberra, a national not-for-profit empowering young rural women and non-binary people to reach their leadership potential. She works on a part time basis in health administration and has previously worked in education administration.
Eve applied for the Youth Steering Committee because she is passionate about championing rural Australia and the strengths and leadership potential of rural young people. Eve understands the unique challenges faced by rural youth and hopes to bring her first-hand experience of living in regional Australia to the Youth Steering Committee.
She would love to see diverse young voices genuinely included in decisions impacting young people. She hopes to advocate for better access to essential services for rural youth, especially improved reproductive and mental health care services and enhanced education and training opportunities in the bush.
Isabel Adams (she/her)
Tasmania
Isabel Adams is 14 years old and has lived in Tasmania her whole life. She loves reading, writing, music, netball, science, maths and service.
Isabel is passionate about amplifying the voices of young people so that they can have a say in the issues affecting them. She hopes to advocate for increased access to education, opportunities, and mental healthcare, as well as increased care for the environment and more safe spaces for young people to connect.
As a member of the committee, Isabel wants to ensure a diverse range of young Australians can influence politics and enjoy all of their rights. She is excited to be able to use the committee as a new platform to amplify youth voices.
Isabella Homes (she/her)
South Australia
Bella is from Kaurna Country and is currently studying a Bachelor of Environmental Policy and Management at the University of Adelaide. She has a keen interest in environmentalism. She is also passionate about volleyball, playing and coaching at a national level, which has taught her a lot about connection and community.
Bella applied for the Youth Steering Committee with a distinct interest in addressing action on climate change and discrimination. She has been personally affected by these issues and sees the best way for positive change is to learn from and collaborate with our country's top leaders. She is looking forward to learning more about the experiences of the other members and how the Youth Steering Committee can work together to meet the goals of the new Youth Engagement Model.
Kiara Petterson (she/her)
Northern Territory
Kiara is a Rak Mak Mak Marranunggu woman from the Finniss River Region of the Northern Territory. Kiara is studying Law at Bond University. In her spare time, Kiara likes to spend time out bush hunting and fishing with her family.
Kiara is excited to be a part of the Youth Steering Committee to discuss what matters most to young people and brings her perspective as a young Aboriginal woman from the Northern Territory.
Nayonika Bhattacharya (she/they)
New South Wales
Nayonika currently resides on the Gadigal land of Eora nation. As a soon-to-be Arts/Law graduate, she is passionate about exploring the art of storytelling and movement and sharing it with the community. If you miss them trying to explore the local bookstore or music scene, you'll see them exploring the beautiful landscapes they are around with a camera.
Nayonika joined the committee because "There should be nothing about us without us". They believe young people are critical in pushing the country to make better and more equitable decisions so we can live in our future. She hopes that the voices on the Youth Steering Committee recentre Australian politics to recognise the needs of young people and to ensure the responses today support them and their communities tomorrow.
Oshay Riley (he/him)
Western Australia
Oshay is a 17-year-old Aboriginal Australian currently attending Trinity College in Perth on an Indigenous scholarship. He enjoys school and studying and hopes to go to university to study science. His interests include learning, fitness, video games, martial arts, and rugby.
Oshay applied for the Youth Steering Committee after seeing problems with the way his generation is living. He wants to make change and not just preach about what should be done. He is motivated by the young people in his family as he wants to ensure they don’t experience the same hardships he has.
As a member of the committee, Oshay feels his life experiences have given him insight that would be appreciated and believes his voice should be heard so that people can benefit from it.
Sebastian Langdon-Macmillan (he/him)
Queensland
Sebastian is interested in politics, geopolitics, cats, bridge (the card game), cooking, Lego and Star Wars. He joined the committee because he wants to help and represent others. He wants to be a doctor one day, and maybe in the future, be a representative of the Australian people as an advocate or an elected representative.
He wants to help the government better understand youth and how to engage with young people. He is keen to utilise opportunities to engage with people and 'network' as a person with Asperger's syndrome (ASD). He has always found this difficult and appreciates being able to learn how to reach his full potential so he can support the team.
Taihan Rahman (he/him)
Victoria
Taihan Rahman is a 13-year-old year 8 student. His hobbies are playing and watching sports. He has a passion for getting involved in community events and fundraisers such as the Royal Children’s Hospital and Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.
Taihan hopes to be a creative and understanding member of the Youth Committee. Coming from a migrant background, he understands the importance of making connections with other cultures. He believes that the more we know about each other and our differences, the more widely and better we can embrace what makes us unique.
Taihan wants to campaign strongly on problems such as social justice issues of cultural discrimination and educational inequality. He believes that these issues have a widespread impact and by working on them together, the committee can do something incredibly meaningful for thousands of young Australians.