Young people from Australian immigrants and refugee backgrounds are calling for more to be said on policies that affect them in the upcoming federal election. With just a few days to go before the May 21 election, multicultural youth say they are frustrated by the lack of involvement of politicians in issues that affect them.

The voter turnout for the upcoming federal election is more than 88 percent.

Despite the growing demand for mental health care during the pandemic, many young immigrants and refugees are still not getting the help they need.

Calling for the development of a national youth policy to recognize the needs of multicultural young citizens.

Immigrants and young people with a refugee background say whichever government comes to the polls they should take steps to develop the country’s first national youth policy. The five policies they are calling for are: mental health, youth representation, humanitarian, immigration programs, education and employment and income support.

As of April 21, 2022, the turnout of young voters in this federal election is 2 percent more than the 2019 election period.

Rahim Mohammadi, 21, says he is disappointed because candidates are failing to deliver on their promises to attract young people, especially immigrants.

He says you don’t feel any support, you always feel like an outsider. We need to hear the words.

Rahim came to Australia as a refugee from Afghanistan in 2003, living with his family in Brisbane.

Not being able to speak English and having no support network, it took them five to six years to settle down.

Rahim, a nursing and psychology student, never thought he would work in an advocacy role with the Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network. But he was forced to speak out when the Corona epidemic affected Australia’s multicultural youth.

Mental health in general is always seen as a shameful issue, he says, especially for those who have just arrived in Australia.

The network, called MYAN, has held regular round-table meetings across the country, including in regional areas, over the past six months, involving hundreds of multicultural young people.

In the two years since the pandemic, mental health issues have emerged as a major theme among participants.

Ms. Carmel Guerra has been the Chairperson of MYAN for the past 12 years.

He says despite the growing demand for mental health care in the epidemic, many young immigrants and refugees are still not getting the help they need.

At the end of the dialogue, the group created a five-point electoral policy platform that called on future governments and policymakers to consider reforms in four more important areas: youth representation, humanitarian aid and support for youth in immigration programs, education and employment barriers and Australian human rights. Tackling racism by adopting the National Anti-Racism Framework proposed by the Commission.

Zahra Al Hilalio, 21, of Perth, also attended the round table meeting.

His parents are of Palestinian-Iraqi descent and he was born in Australia. He says discrimination is a sad experience for him – and that’s why he decided to study law and journalism.

She wants to see something that will ensure gender and cultural diversity at all levels of leadership in society and that is why she is supporting MYAN’s call for the development of a national youth policy, recognizing the needs of multicultural young citizens.

They have proposed that the policy be handled by a federal youth minister in the cabinet; And a Federal Youth Advisory Council will be formed, which will include multicultural youth under the age of 30.

Observing the behavior of politicians during this election campaign, Zahra says that those like her who are thinking of entering politics one day are disappointed in their behavior.

Immigrants from non-European countries have been coming for decades since the end of the White Australia policy in 1973. Many of them come from Asia, the Middle East, South America and Africa.

But this cultural diversity in the Australian Parliament does not reflect that – and the rate lags behind that of the United States, New Zealand and Canada.

According to a 2016 report by the Australian Commission on Human Rights, 19 per cent of Australia’s population is non-European, compared to only four per cent representing them in the Australian Federal Parliament.

The disparity is even more pronounced when considering the population and the representation of Asians in Parliament.

The number of adult Asian immigrants in Australia is approximately 14.6 per cent – roughly the same as in the United States, New Zealand and Canada.

Of the 228 members of Australia’s federal parliament, 2.2 per cent – or just five MPs – are Asian or South Asian immigrants.

In New Zealand, the proportion of Asian MPs is more than 5 percent, in Canada it is 12.8 percent and in the United States it is 3.8 percent.

Rahim, a young immigrant, thinks he is finally making progress.

Her hope is that her studies in nursing and psychology will enable her to look after the physical and mental well-being of those she works with.