The Activist Issue 6 - Forward

2023 has been a massive year for NSW Young Labor.

In March, NSW Young Labor led the charge that elected a Labor Government in New South Wales after 12 years of Liberal-National rule.

In April, nearly 100 members of New South Wales Young Labor attended the Australian Young Labor conference, and it was members from our state that drove the policy agenda of the national youth wing of our party.

In June we held our Housing Youth Council, which in turn launched our housing policy campaign that members of Young Labor took to branches, SECs, and FECs across the state, showing that NSW Young Labor has an important role to play in the party’s policy debate.

Until October, NSW Young Labor members campaigned again across New South Wales for the Voice to Parliament, and in the face of a malicious scare campaign proudly stood up for a Voice to Parliament.

And now, in December, New South Wales Young Labor is holding its first conference since 2018, bringing nearly 200 delegates (and countless alternate delegates and observers) from across the state together to decide our movement’s policy agenda going forward.

This year has demonstrated how invaluable Young Labor is to the broader Labor Party, and has highlighted our capacity to organise.

Our members do so much for this party, putting in the hard yards on election campaigns, helping run events, and engaging young people in the movement. But, our contributions should always extend beyond just organising.

NSW Young Labor has a crucial role to play in the party’s policy apparatus. We should always back Labor Governments when they do the right thing, but should not be afraid to push Governments to do more, or provide constructive criticism when they get things wrong.

I am sure that our 2023 NSW Young Labor Conference will showcase our ability to do just that. 

NSW Young Labor Conference should drive debate within the party. We should be advocating for new and creative policies to address the housing crisis, leading the charge to make TAFE and University more affordable, championing policies protecting young workers in their workplaces, and pushing for ambitious social and legal reform in New South Wales.

Our members have contributed much to the NSW Labor Party’s campaign machine this year, and I look forward to seeing the contributions our members make to the policy debate as well.