Labor’s Charlotte Walker, a South Australian who turned 21 on election night, has said she will advocate for issues affecting young people such as housing affordability and the climate crisis. During her first speech to parliament, Australia’s youngest senator also spoke of her battle with depression, saying, ‘I often wondered if I wanted to go on – if there was any point in me being here.’ Walker added that experiencing a mental health challenge led her to want to ‘shine a light on how childhood experiences … can continue to affect your mental health into adulthood – and to explore meaningful ways to address this’. The senator ended her speech by saying that young people deserve a future that is ‘not just sustainable but fulfilling’
Australia’s youngest senator describes depression, ‘wack’ responses and a pet-related white lie in first speech
Crisis support services can be reached 24 hours a day: Lifeline 13 11 14; Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467; Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800; MensLine Australia 1300 78 99 78; Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636
