AEC bid to engage Indigenous youths

The Australian Electoral Commission has made a direct pitch to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth as part of its efforts to engage them more in the political process.

The AEC is calling on Indigenous youth to apply for a place in its second National Indigenous Youth Parliament in May.

Participants will meet current MPs and learn more about parliamentary processes.

The AEC says it started the leadership program in 2012 in a bid to boost electoral enrolment and reduce high rates of informal voting in some Indigenous communities.

One of the participants in the 2012 program was 21-year-old Mitchell Dahlstrom from Moree in northern New South Wales.

He has told Michael Kenny, he believes the program was a valuable way of building upon the leadership skills he gained through high school.

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