The Youth Affairs Council of WA have praised the work of outgoing Youth Minister Dave Kelly.
Last week Kelly announced he would be stepping down from his Ministerial duties to make way for fresh faces in the WA cabinet.
YACWA praised Kelly’s achievements in the role.
“We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Minister Kelly for his tireless dedication to supporting the needs of young people and the youth sector in Western Australia.
“Ever since taking over the youth portfolio in December 2019 Minister Kelly has made an extraordinary effort to develop a genuinely collaborative partnership with YACWA and the youth sector, regularly meeting with our CEO Sandy McKiernan and attending our events such as the State of the Youth Forum and WA Youth Awards.” the youth body posted to their social media pages.
“We have valued Minister Kelly’s willingness to not only engage in open and honest dialogue, but also take strong action to make a real difference to improve the wellbeing of young people and strengthen the youth sector in WA. This was demonstrated by the vital role he played in securing ongoing funding for the Youth Pride Network – YPN, investing in the Youth Digital Inclusion Project to deliver ICT devices for young people experiencing hardship, providing grant funding for Youth Work WA and many other important contributions to other initiatives for young people across the state.” YACWA said.
The youth body praised Kelly’s “steadfast commitment to championing the voices of young people”, saying he had approached the role with a positive energy.
In response Kelly posted a picture of some flowers he’d been sent by YACWA sharing the mutual love and respect.
“I loved working with you. You are a great organization doing really important work. And the flowers were a nice touch.” Kelly said.
Announcing his resignation last week Kelly said he was disappointed to be leaving his Ministerial roles, he supported the Premier’s decision.
“The Premier has indicated that his key motivation behind his request is the opportunity it will provide for Cabinet renewal – in particular, greater female representation within the Cabinet.
“While I will be personally disappointed to no longer be a Cabinet Minister, I have no complaints about the opportunity I have been given. There are 2.6 million people in WA and only 17 at any one time can be a Cabinet Minister. To have held that role for six years is an immense privilege.
“I would also welcome more women in Cabinet. I have always been a supporter of rules that required WA Labor to achieve 50 per cent female representation in the Parliament. I look forward to WA Labor reaching 50 per cent female representation in Cabinet.” Kelly said.
Alongside his responsibilities to WA youth, Kelly was also the Minister for Water, Forestry, Fisheries, Science, Innovation and ICT.
Premier Mark McGowan thanked Minister Kelly for his service over the last six years, noting that under Kelly’s period in the role the government had provided the Youth Pride Network with its first funding source to ensure a voice for young LGBTQIA+ people, as well as funding TransFolk of WA to deliver support services for trans and gender diverse young people.
Premier Mark McGowan is expected to announce his new cabinet positions later today.
OIP Staff
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