Wednesday, 27 May 2026

Federation Chamber

Mr Tim Wilson: One of the most important things is to encourage young Australians to become self-starters and to get on with their lives and achieve great things. Every time people open a new small business, they are encouraging commercial hope and encouraging others to get ahead and to back themselves in. This isn't a speech about the budget; though it could easily be. Let's talk about good news for a change, because what we know in the Goldstein electorate is there are so many self-starters and small businesses that want to get ahead, so the Sandy Street Art Project and Bayside City Council set out to encourage young Australians to be able to get ahead. Last Saturday in Melrose Street in Sandringham, the council ran the Young Creators Market, a real market with real stalls and customers, and 12- to 18-year-olds discovering what it actually feels like to run a business before they've even finished year 12. There I met so many different young creators, from those creating crocheted items for sale to young people who go to their friends' birthday parties and bend balloons. I even now have in the Goldstein office in Federal Parliament some of Felix's smoked salts. He not only smokes the salt—it goes beautifully on food; I can confirm that—but he also plants trees for offset. There were many stallholders there who shared what they learned about set-up cost, product ideas and how to make things work out commercially. It worked. I was there, and it was something they should be immensely proud of. So, to all the young creators, keep going. We believe in you.