Stella Maris College in Manly hosted Have Your Say Day recently. This youth-led initiative gives young people across Sydney’s Northern Beaches a platform to engage directly with elected leaders, youth sector professionals and community members on topics of importance to them.
By Debra Vermeer
The College, which is a Good Samaritan Education school, not only hosted the event, but its school captain, Ava, and vice-captains, Georgia and Maya, took part, raising the issue of poor public transport in the local area and offering possible solutions.
The Principal, Sharyn Quirk, said the experience of hosting and being a part of Have Your Say Day was inspirational on a range of fronts. “I think we all learned so much from our young people and realised once again that they are capable of so much,” she said.
“All of the students, not just our students from Stella Maris College, were so articulate and passionate about the topics they were presenting. Their ideas were sound and very well considered and I really hope the politicians were listening, because these are the young people who are going to be voting very soon.”
Have Your Say Day is an initiative of Northern Beaches Council’s Youth Advisory Group and is supported by the Council and the Office for Youth New South Wales.
The event is coordinated by student leaders from local high schools across the Northern Beaches, known collectively as the Beaches Leadership Team.
Young people aged 12 to 24 are surveyed and the results are used to inform presentations given by school leaders to local representatives and decision makers.
To help build advocacy skills and empower and prepare presenters ahead of the event, the Office for Youth facilitated an advocacy workshop with the young leaders.
The process culminated in Have Your Say Day, which was hosted by Stella Maris College on 20 May, and saw students from nine schools present on eight topics of importance raised in the survey.
Sharyn said the College was delighted to host the presentation evening and support the local forum for youth voices.
Federal Member for Warringah Zali Steggall OAM with students. Photo credit: Stella Maris College.
“Each student team from the high schools taking part were assigned a particular category, which the students then researched, took on board the student feedback that they received as to why that was important to them, and then they delivered a speech to the Members of Parliament and their representatives who were present,” Sharyn said.
“And importantly, they presented not only on the findings in relation to the problems that young people raised, but also on some suggested solutions. Watching each of the presentations with the students presenting solutions to politicians was fantastic.
“We always know that students are far more creative and far more deeply in touch with their local area than we give them a lot of credit for. They really were amazing to hear. I wasn’t just proud of the Stella students, but of all of them, and the mature way they presented these issues.”
Picking up on the theme in the Rule of Benedict that those in authority should listen to the youngest members of the community as well as the older members when making decisions (RB 3), Sharyn said the outward-looking focus of the presentations also highlighted Good Samaritan values of helping one’s neighbour.
“None of the presentations were given from a selfish perspective,” she said. “It was quite beautiful to see that all the teams from the different schools were looking at the issues from the perspective of how we can make this better, not necessarily for ourselves, but for everyone. That community focus really came through, loud and clear.”
During a Q and A session that followed, those present could ask questions from the floor or via a QR code.
Tackling the issue of transport, Maya told the audience that 865 respondents in the survey identified transport as a critical issue, which affected their work or school life, making it the most prominent concern.
“Transport is an essential part of everyday life, and the unreliable and limited options available restrict students, young people and the general public from fulfilling their basic commitments,” she said.
Georgia said many respondents described buses that were delayed, cancelled or too full to board. “As a result, journeys that should be straightforward can become unpredictable and time-consuming.”
Ava shared the story of one 23-year-old respondent who said the limited public transport on the Northern Beaches significantly affected her quality of life, requiring a commute of one-and-a-half hours each way, leaving very little time for family life, health or other important aspects of living.
“This issue is not exclusive to young people, but directly impacts all who live, learn and earn across the Beaches,” she said.
Identifying one of the key problems as being that young people often do not ‘tap on’ or ‘tap off’ when using public transport, thus skewing official usage figures, the team proposed that integrating student IDs within the Transport for NSW Opal app and rewarding engagement rather than punishing non-compliance “could significantly increase youth interaction with tapping on to work to resolve greater issues regarding public transport on the Beaches”.
Stella Maris College Captains. Photo credit: Stella Maris College.
Speaking to The Good Oil after the event, Ava, Georgia and Maya said that Have Your Say Day was an “incredible opportunity” to engage with a range of perspectives on issues faced by young people.
“Our survey of youth voices across the Northern Beaches accumulated more than 2500 responses, providing us with broad and insightful evidence that informed our presentations,” they said.
“We represented Stella Maris with our presentation on transport, the most prominent concern raised in the survey with 856 respondents, while other schools discussed cost of living, the environment, education, addiction, mental health and civics education.
“What we found most valuable was the Q and A sessions with Council members and Members of Parliament.
“These interactions allowed for direct dialogue and demonstrated the importance of maintaining ongoing communication between youth and decision-makers. It also strengthened our understanding of leadership, advocacy, promoting social justice, and highlighted the significance of our student voice as a Good Samaritan school in shaping meaningful and lasting change.”
Stella Maris College continues in the tradition of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan and belongs to the community of 10 schools across Australia called Good Samaritan Education.
This article was published in the June 2026 edition of The Good Oil.
