City of Mandurah celebrates 40 years of Junior Council program

Former City of Mandurah junior councillors have taken a trip down memory lane at a special reunion on the weekend.

Past and present Junior Mayors and Deputy Junior Mayors gathered at the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre to celebrate 40 years of the Junior Council program.

Mandurah Junior Council originally started in 1985 and operated for several years with a formal relationship with the Shire of Mandurah.

While the program ran in some form across various schools in the 1990s and early 2000s, in 2002 Junior Council was resumed more formally as a collaboration with the Education Department’s PEAC program, Alcoa and the City of Mandurah.

In 2007 the City took on full responsibility of the program. 

Today, Mandurah Junior Council is represented by two Year 6 students from all 21 primary schools in Mandurah, comprising 42 junior councillors including a Junior Mayor and Deputy Junior Mayor. 

Junior Council was created to give young people a voice in the community, provide an insight into how local government works, and nurture leadership skills and confidence.

During their 12-month tenure on Junior Council, young people develop important skills including debating, speech writing, teamwork and 
community decision making. 

Mayor Caroline Knight said Mandurah Junior Council had a long history of ensuring young people had a voice in the community and were empowered to drive change and make meaningful differences.  

“Forty years of Mandurah Junior Council is an incredible milestone, and everyone involved over the years should be extremely proud,” Mayor Knight said. 

“Junior Council offers amazing opportunities for our young people to make their voices heard about things that are important to them, all while building valuable life skills for confidence and leadership and learning all about how local government works. 

“For our young leaders, the program can open their eyes to a whole range of possibilities, encouraging them to strive for great things and share their enthusiasm with their family, peers and wider community. This instils a great sense of citizenship, self-pride and determination.  

“Over four decades, our Junior Councillors have created a wonderful legacy and forged a bright path for future generations of the program. The City is proud to support our young leaders; it’s a powerful investment in Mandurah’s future.”   

Special guest speakers at the reunion included former Junior Mayors Lilijana Nicholls (2015) and Joseva Ganilau (2023) who spoke about their journeys since participating in the program.