27 May 2026
The Nationals’ Member for Euroa, Annabelle Cleeland, has praised the insight and advocacy of students at Broadford Secondary College following a lunchtime discussion with the school’s Political and Social Chat group about the role of politics in shaping regional communities.
Ms Cleeland visited the school to speak with students about political engagement and the issues impacting young people across the region, challenging the group to raise the matters they believed were most important to their community.
The students responded with a strong and thoughtful discussion centred on education, infrastructure, transport and regional disadvantage.
Students highlighted the urgent need for upgraded infrastructure at Broadford Secondary College, including a dedicated STEM facility and specialist classrooms, as the school prepares for increased enrolments following changes to Kilmore’s education zoning.
The group also supported ongoing advocacy for a secondary school in Kilmore to reduce the long travel distances many students currently face to access education.
Students raised concerns about the disruption caused by Inland Rail works and what they described as poor consultation with the local community throughout the prolonged project.
Road safety and deteriorating road conditions across the region were also raised, alongside concerns about school bus capacity, with some services reportedly operating nearly 30 per cent over capacity and leaving students struggling to access public transport to get to school.
Ms Cleeland said she was continually impressed by the depth of understanding regional students had about the challenges facing their communities.
“It is always enlightening hearing directly from students because they are often incredibly well-informed about the issues affecting their families and communities,” Ms Cleeland said.
“I spoke to the students about my own pathway into politics and how local issues opened my eyes to the growing disadvantage regional Victorians face when it comes to infrastructure, services and investment.”
“I told them something I strongly believe: if you are not engaged with politics, politics will engage with you.”
“I challenged the students to think about the ways government decisions already impact their daily lives, and they immediately connected that to issues like overcrowded buses, unsafe roads, school capacity pressures and the impact rising taxes are having on farming families.”
Students also spoke about the impact the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund tax was having on their families and broader frustrations that regional communities often felt overlooked by government decision-making.
Ms Cleeland said the discussion reinforced the importance of ensuring young regional voices are heard.
“These students understand that the decisions made in Melbourne directly shape their future, whether that is education opportunities, transport access, road safety or the ability for their communities to grow and thrive,” she said.
“They should be incredibly proud of the way they represented their community and advocated for the future they want to see.”