Work in three small groups:

• caring for the environment
• looking after the needs and rights of young people
• making our society fair, just and one that cares for everyone.

Activity 1: What else needs to be done?

Look back at the information you collected and the decisions you made when answering the question What have governments done so far?

Identify those areas on your wish list which your group believes have not been supported as well as you would like by governments. If you have a long wish list, choose no more than three concerns to investigate.

Investigate these concerns by:

• revisiting websites used earlier to find out What have governments done so far?
• finding books, videos, articles in your school and local library that might help you. Ask the librarian to help you find these resources
• as a home task, interview people in your local community who might know something about this issue. Identify people to interview. Discuss how to conduct an interview as a class before you proceed. You will need a letter from your class teacher explaining what you are doing.
• telephoning or emailing the government department(s) responsible for your areas of concern to find out more about the causes of your concern and possible solutions. Many government departments have offices in major regional centres such as Ballarat, Bendigo, Horsham, La Trobe Valley, Mildura, Shepparton, Wangaratta, Warrnambool and Wodonga
• reading local and state newspapers to see if there are any letters or articles about your issue.

Note: since you will be preparing a brief report or publicity campaign, keep details to use in a bibliography. Your teacher and librarian will be able to help you understand what needs to be done to develop a bibliography.

Organise found information under suitable headings. Use these headings as the basis of your final product. In some cases, such as when discussing caring for the environment, you might be able to use photographs to help illustrate your main points.

You might find it useful to present a draft copy to the class. Invite their suggestions to improve it.

Decide what you should do with this information. Decide whether you should present the information to:

• your local state members of parliament
• the responsible minister
• the Government of Victoria
• the responsible government department(s)

Follow up to see what these people did with your suggestions.

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• Introductory activities
• Investigating the past
• Visiting the exhibition
• Going further