As National Youth Week continues students at Launceston College shared their views on issues affecting young people in Tasmania.

A focus on health should be one of the priorities for the state government, the students agreed. 

Anecdotal stories about long waiting times, misdiagnoses and ambulance ramping meant all of them were concerned about how sick people were being treated.

Sophie Burgess said she had heard stories from family members about overworked hospital staff that had lead her to believe there was pressure on the system.

“We are facing a population struggle, with an ageing population who needs more health care but it doesn’t seem like there’s enough funding for the hospitals,” she said.

Alyssa James said she had faced a similar problem herself, after needing to be hospitalised last year.

Ms James said while she had a positive experience at the Launceston General Hospital she had spoken to others in the hospital who hadn’t had such a good experience.

She and fellow student Timothy Lippis agreed more needed to be done to support mental health resources as it was a common problem.

“I’ve seen it in so many people, there is only one support worker here for a school that has more than 1000 students,” Ms James said.

All seven students studying at Launceston College will be going onto tertiary education. 

However, not one of them said they would be staying in Tasmania to complete their education.

They said a lack of career opportunities and a desire to leave home had fuelled their decision to leave but said the state was heading in the right direction to improve education.

“There are not enough opportunities here for my chosen career path,” Timothy Lippis said.

Mr Lippis is thinking about a career in neuroscience, which meant limited education and job opportunities.

Sean Arnol said he believed he would get a better tertiary education if he went to study in Melbourne, than if he studied at the University of Tasmania.

However, all students agreed the UTAS Inveresk campus revitalisation was a good step forward for the uni and for the city

“It will be good for them (UTAS) to update what they have,” Ms Burgess said.

The revitalisation of the campus would not deter them from studying on the mainland as all students said the desire for adventure also factored into their decision.

A decision by the federal government to reduce penalty rates for some sectors had not resonated with the students, who all said they relied on the extra money.

Kaleb Lee said he felt like the government had not consulted young people before making the decision that will impact on young casual workers.

He said he and his friends relied on penalty rates to help them with their daily expenses and for their future goals.

Mr Lippis said as he was saving to move for his tertiary study, he needed every extra cent.

“I work a lot of weekends and that extra money has been going into my savings because I will eventually have to move,” he said.

Ms Burgess said she believed the decision by the Fair Work Commission had been done in the best interests of small business owners and not young people.

“We are already more likely to be exploited at work and now we have to have a reduction in pay,” she said.

While the state government was doing some things well, all students agreed more work needed to be done to help them engage more with the younger population.

Ms Burgess said all levels of government seemed to ignore young people and didn’t take their views seriously.

In Tasmania, all students agreed the government was doing well in the realms of tourism and renewable energy but could change their focus to include other things.

“I think they need to think more about health and education,” Ms Burgess said.

All students agreed that the state government had not engaged them well with regard to the upcoming Legislative Council elections in Launceston.

“A lot of people didn’t know about the elections or even that we had to enrol to vote but the enrolments closed last night (Monday night),” she said.

Mr Arnol said he didn’t think any level of government took young people seriously or engaged with them on issues such as same-sex marriage or penalty rates.

Tasmania’s size means young people are often locked out of the limited opportunities on offer and there are not enough youth-specific events or initiatives, the students said.

Mr Lippis said he hoped the state would try to find more ways to include young people in events and pointed to the recent Harmony Week festival as an example.

Jack Budgeon said while community theatre was quite strong in the state it was often hard for a young person to break into, because it was too close-knit.

“It’s really great but you have to know someone if you are going to break in,” he said.

While he said the Launceston Theatre Ensemble was a good interim group for young people interested in theatre, more initiatives like that should exist.

Ms Burgess said Tasmania’s size often held it back.

“Tasmania is small, so there are a lot of industries on the mainland that we don’t benefit from,” Ms Burgess said.

“We need to be innovative and start producing things to try to get young people to want to live and work here.”

National Youth Week runs from March 31 until April 9.