Youth issues

The JEP has invited the 21 Senatorial candidates to answer a series of questions covering a wide range of key topics in the election

Question:
If you were 16, what political issues would you consider most important?

Senator Mike Vibert
If I was 16, education and employment prospects would top of my list of political issues. I would want to see continued States support for higher and further education and a wide range of employment opportunities available locally. On a more global level, as a young person, I would be very concerned about environmental issues and whether Jersey was doing enough in that respect. I would want to see more recycling and more emphasis put on minimising waste and using less energy.

Adrian Walsh
Being 16 I would be more interested in where I could meet people, how I could interact and where I could get training or university places as well as money. But looking just a few years more I would think that they would also be starting to ask questions like ‘why can I not get housing subsidy?’, ‘why can I not get a mortgage?’ or even ‘which country can I go to because I can’t afford a property here?’. It is also the time that they will be thinking of starting to drive and become mobile and will be looking at funding this change in their lives with a decently paid part-time job.

Daniel Wimberley
I would be scared witless about climate change, and I would want to scream ‘do something’! I would be wondering: where’s it all going to end? What comes next after consumerism? I would wonder if my education was preparing me/had prepared me for life in the best way. I would be bothered about injustice – why do some have so little and many have so little? And about civil rights. I would want things to do and a lovely environment to do them in, barbecues on the beach . . . and not always have to pay for everything.

Cliff Le Clercq
I would want to know I had a future and that the Island had equipped me to earn a living, have choices, be able to travel and know I could come back to something worthwhile, that there were things to do here that were fun and exciting, rock festivals, good club scene, not always controlled or restricted, that in fact youth were applauded and encouraged not scorned, and that my wants, needs and opinions were validated by the elders of the tribe, so that once education was finished I had a meaningful place to call home.

Nick Le Cornu
Will I be able to live in this Island, earn my own living and enjoy my own home, raise my own family and see them educated and cared for here on the island of my birth? Right now there is no guarantee of that.

Ian Le Marquand
16-year-olds who have left school will be most concerned about finding work and getting training for work. Many would like to be offered an apprenticeship. Those who are staying on for A-levels and planning university will be concerned about grant levels. All 16-year-olds who think ahead will be concerned about property prices and rental levels and wondering whether they will be able to afford to stay in Jersey. Most 16 -year-olds will be concerned about fairness and social justice. Some will be concerned about violence on the streets at night.

Deputy Alan Maclean
I would be most concerned about the cost of living in Jersey and whether I would be able to afford to buy my own home in the future. I would want the environment to be protected and not see the countryside ruined by development on green fields.

Jeremy Maçon
a) Whether there will be any green fields left for their children. b) Whether they will ever be able to afford a home of their own. c) That apart from the finance industry, there are very few well paid careers open to them. d) More provision for recreational activities, including covered facilities. e) How further education costs are going to be funded.

Senator Philip Ozouf
The costs of further education, the type and diversity of job opportunities available to young people in the future (not everybody wants to work in finance), concern about house prices and lack of opportunity to buy a home, the general cost of living in Jersey (including taxes) and the lack of activities and things to do. I have been the youngest Deputy and Senator for the past nine years. As a result young people regularly contact me with their views and concerns.

Nick Palmer
Politicians forget that ‘the future’ is longer for young people. If I was an informed 16- year-old, the twin threats of climate change and peak oil look to have the greatest impact on my future. I would be worried that most local politicians have not properly integrated this into their world view. Locally, I would be worried that the current turmoil in global financial markets, and the measures that the international community will have to introduce to stabilise the system, might have a large impact on our financial industry, particularly its current pursuit of hedge funds for new business.

Mick Pashley
I would expect that I would be most interested in how the government sees their role in developing my own age group. Although most teens now have excellent understanding of most issues, it is how we encourage them to grow, develop and enjoy life that is high on the agenda.

Chris Perkins
The 16-year-olds that I know are worried about the future. They are worried that by the time they have children of 16 there will be no rural environment left to enjoy and that house prices will be out of reach when they are older. They are worried by the rapid changes taking place and want to see some stability (to ‘keep Jersey how it is’); and they are worried by the rising levels of violent crime and that even now, St Helier is not a safe place to walk at night.

Deputy Alan Breckon
My future – can I get a job, how much will I get paid, where can I go, what can I spend it on? Why can’t I officially go to the pub? My mates are staying in education so I suppose I should too!

Deputy Sarah Ferguson
Less persecution by authority. Better availability of pastimes – eg could Fort Regent Pool be converted to an ice rink?

Mark Forskitt
At 16 I was interested in international affairs and the big questions, especially fairness. But I spent much more time concerned about my social group and one or two particular girls – I doubt human nature has changed. These days I would worry about the implications of the old American Indian proverb: ‘We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.’

Mike Higgins
Practical matters such as: Education – can I afford to go to university? Can I afford to not go? Employment – if I don’t go to university will I be able to get a job in the island and earn a decent wage and buy a flat or house in the future? If I do go to university will the course I take enable me to get a job in Jersey when I return? What is the current generation doing to the Island? The rush for growth? The effect that our policies are having on the environment? What they think we should be doing.

Trevor Pitman
Having dedicated a large part of my working life to supporting young people I really wish I had more than 100 words! But . . . Having my voice heard + knowing my new vote would count. Provision of affordable facilities (leisure and specialised youth projects). A bus service that is young person friendly (get you home as well as out). Rents to be affordable so I could leave home if I wanted/needed to. A much-improved range of training and job opportunities, not only finance. Which probably explains why so many young people are joining the JDA.

Senator Paul Routier
That no financial barrier is in place to access further education either on or off the island. There should be greater availability of internships and apprenticeships so that the move into the workplace is made as smooth as possible. The establishment of more social, cultural and sporting facilities together with the support and encouragment to make decisions which will enable people to take responsiblity for the facilities.

Deputy Geoff Southern
If I were 16, I would want to see the provision of affordable facilities for young people; a bus service that doesn’t stop at 8 pm; rents to be affordable so I could leave home if I wanted to; a wide range of different training and job opportunities, not just finance. Above all, I would want my voice to be heard and respected, and to feel that my vote would be turned into action. To my mind that can best happen with party politics. There is no connection between the vote and action at present.

Montfort Tadier
Affordable housing, interesting job opportunities in Jersey, global warming, policing of Jersey Live (which is excessively pushing up the ticket price), greater support for aspiring musicans and up-and-coming bands. Opportunities of a film workshop, for those interested in cinematography and directing.

Deputy Peter Troy
Investment in youth facilities such as youth clubs,skateboard parks, ice rinks, football pitches, dance studios. Adults learning that not all young people are hooligans. Police being tactful in dealing with young people, and understanding their problems and insecurities.