community - 2026-06-11

Transport tops young people's concerns at Northern Beaches Have Your Say Day

Source: www.michaelreganmp.com

Transport has emerged as the biggest issue facing young people on the northern beaches, according to feedback gathered through Northern Beaches Council's 2026 Have Your Say Day. The youth-led program brought students together on Wednesday 20 May to speak directly about the pressures affecting their lives, with survey results and student presentations pointing to daily problems that cut across school, work, safety and housing.

Transport has emerged as the biggest issue facing young people on the northern beaches, according to feedback gathered through Northern Beaches Council's 2026 Have Your Say Day. The youth-led program brought students together on Wednesday 20 May to speak directly about the pressures affecting their lives, with survey results and student presentations pointing to daily problems that cut across school, work, safety and housing. This year's event reached its largest audience so far. A total of 2,368 surveys were completed in 2026, up from 2,120 in 2025 and 308 in the program's first year in 2023. Most participants were teenagers in the earlier years of high school, with 57 per cent aged 12 to 14 and 40 per cent aged 15 to 17. The event covered transport, addiction, mental health, cost-of-living pressures, education, the environment, third spaces and governance. Survey results showed transport was the number one issue affecting young people in 2026, followed by mental health and the environment. That marks a clear shift from 2024, when mental health and cost of living were the leading concerns, and from 2025, when social media was ranked as the top issue. Students from Stella Maris...