Woroni

A couple of weeks ago I had the chance to interview Wyatt Roy, the youngest Member of Parliament, and member for Longman. At just 20 years of age he defeated the Labor member in the 2010 election. There is something strangely charismatic about Wyatt. It could be the raw enthusiasm that he brings. There is the sort of energy that you feel from people who feel incredibly passionate about helping people. Since taking office, his schedule has been grueling, especially when compared to a university student’s. Whether you disagree with his policy and philosophy or not, you have to admire the drive that it takes to get preselected, then elected on a federal level.

What’s your taste in music? Any of the country influence, coming from Queensland?

I have a fairly eclectic taste in music. I have splendor in the grass in my electorate and got out there last year and had a look at Coldplay, John Butler Trio and some others. I grew up on a strawberry farm so I had the best of both worlds; the farm wasn’t that far from the city.

Our generation often gets labeled as apathetic, do you agree and what can be done to combat this?

I completely disagree with that. I think there is a perception, definitely, that we are apathetic or lazy, but my view on this is that we have been inundated with media more than any other generation before us, whether it’s the media cycle, it’s shorter than before, but social media, new media, these sorts of things. I think that our generation is very aware of what’s going on. Back home, my best mates are not political at all, but they know what’s going on. They want to get a job, they want to go to university and they are very aware of what’s going on, but because politics has devolved into this forum focused on 30 second media grabs, rather than policy challenges, I think they expect more from major political parties and from politicians. I think there is a difference between being disappointed in the political system and being apathetic in the political system.

What are you future plans, not 5 years down the track, but more focused on 15-20 years away?

Well as I said, politics is not forever, and I only have a 1.7% majority. Politicians don’t like admitting their mortality, but you are faced with it every day and you might lose, or things might change, or there might be a bad redistribution. But, for the time being I love my job. I genuinely love it, I get excited about the fact that I can get up in the

morning and help people. You can actually make lives better. In terms of fifteen years away, lets see,aslongasIfeelthatIcanbe making that contribution, as long as I feel I can be doing that, but it is up to the people to decide. I mean, if you had of said to me three of four years ago that I would be where I am today, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. So lets see what fifteen years brings.

How have you found the transition from a political science student to a federal politician?

It is a very unique experience. This job, there is no university course, no traineeship nor apprenticeship that can prepare you for it. You just have to get your hands dirty and do it. A great mate of mine is John Alexander (federal member for Bennelong and former tennis player) and he said to me a little while ago “I am thirty-nine years your senior, but we have the same political experience”. That transition has been interesting, and has been a steep learning curve. The good thing about the election that I came in with is that you have a lot of support from people going through similar things. On our side, we have had the most amount of people elected with forming government ever, and there a lot of people who you can lean on the shoulders of.

How is it walking into a meeting, with Malcolm Turnbull, Joe Hockey or Tony Abbott, all of who have significantly more political experience than you. Do you feel like you can be taken seriously?

It’s a legitimate question, and when I first came here I thought that there would be more resistance to my presence. But I have been pleasantly surprised by the reception I have had. Our party has said that diversity is a good thing, and they have really embraced that. In 2010 you have me as the youngest, you have Ken Wyatt, the first Indigenous MP, and you have Natasha Griggs, the first woman elected from the Northern Territory. We have gone about saying that we should give that diversity a platform, and that a diversity of views are heard. My colleagues have gone out of their way to make me life as easy as possible, and I have been very grateful for that, and it has made the transition a whole lot easier, soIthatIcandoabetterjobfor my local members.

One of the biggest criticisms that people often level at politicians is that they are “professional politicians”, that they start off in the party and then staff someone and then run for parliament and have no real experience outside the political sphere. Do you think that is a fair criticism, and do you think it is a problem?

I think it is something we should be aware of, and as I said I think it is important that you have a parliament that is as representative of the Australian people as possible. I don’t think we need a parliament full of lawyers or real estate agents, but a few of each is a good thing. John Howard once said that he was worried about the shrinking of the gene pool in the parliament and he was talking particularly about the Labor Party, where they start in the union and then go and work for a minister. Our party’s strength comes from our diversity and we have very wide range of backgrounds. Now that might make our discussions a bit more robust, but I think that this is a good thing when you are having a discussion on the future of the country.

Final question, if you were a U.S citizen, would you be voting for Obama or Bachmann?

You can have that scoop, I would be voting for Obama – definitely.

This interview was recorded as part of Barry Drive, broadcast every Monday morning, 9.30am, on 98.3 2xx FM.  

To watch the interview click here