Liam Lander said it was clear that the old model of talking at, rather than talking to, youth was not working. He believed there were more ways to get people involved than just having a “youth council”.

“Councils can’t effectively make informed decisions about young people without consulting with them and having their voice… but these things have failed in the past,” Mr Lander said.

“In Albury and in Victoria there are youth organisations that bridge the gap between young people and local government, there are quite a few options beyond youth councils, but it’s time it was done properly in Wagga.”

The topic of a youth council was raised again recently, with Councillor Dan Hayes asking council staff to investigate ways to engage youth.

“I used youth council as an overarching word, but we really need to find ways to contact and get feedback from young people,” Cr Hayes said.

“The challenge will be not just to set it up but also to maintain it. We’ve had some involvement from young people with the school captains’ breakfasts, but we’ve got to make sure there’s balance and not just the ‘high achievers’.”

Young people traditionally have had a lack of interest in politics, but a number of high profile scandals – from ‘children overboard’ to the Iraq War and more recently the citizenship debacle – have all served to reinforce the view that it’s inherently untrustworthy.

“There’s a significant degree of apathy here in Wagga and as people grow up they decide politics can’t be trusted,” Mr Lander said.

“It’s part of a global trend, but to simply tell people they need to be involved is the wrong attitude to take, perhaps the basic question needs to change.

“There’s nothing wrong with skate parks, but simply building a skate park ‘for the youth’ is symptomatic of that ‘tick the box’ mentality.

“If we showed people their voice was meaningful it would make a huge impact, they’d get involved if they felt like they mattered.”