Teen Parliament 2024: Send in your ideas to revolutionise SA as applications set to close soon

Senior students in years 10-12 can go in the running for a $10,000 scholarship when they apply for Teen Parliament. Their ideas can change the future of SA for the better. Enter now, applications close soon.

Future leader Lachlan Duggan says time is running out for South Australia to harness its coastline to provide savings for families and open up a new industry in the state.

The 16-year-old student at Adelaide High School is among applicants for The Advertiser’s Teen Parliament 2024.

Time is running out to apply to be one of the 30 students participating in the March 8 event where teens will get to rub shoulders with politicians and changemakers.

Applicants from Years 10, 11 and 12 are encouraged to submit their ideas relating to topics such as state development, the economy and social issues before applications close soon.

Year 11 student Lachlan wants South Australia to farm seaweed which, combined with petrol, can power cars with biofuel and provide savings for families at the pump.

“We’ve got the opportunity to do it,” Lachlan said.

Adelaide High School Year 11 student and Teen parliament hopeful Lachlan Duggan wants to harness SA's coastline to produce biofuel from seaweed. Picture Mark Brake

The idea is not new in the state and as recently as 2019 Whyalla-based energy start-up Muradel developed a proprietary way of producing biofuel from material including algae.

But Lachlan wants to do it at scale and launch a statewide industry which would provide jobs and revolutionise the way cars are powered in SA.

“It’s very similar to the current premier’s idea for hydrogen production in that you’re converting very cheap and very renewable energy … into essentially a power battery that could be used for another purpose,” he said.

However, the main difference, Lachlan said, is that the seaweed biofuel “would be used for the everyday person who drives a car”.

“It’s going to help the lives of people, it’s going to decrease the cost of fuel, it’s going to reduce carbon emissions and it would be a good boost for industry,” he said.

The idea came to Lachlan in Year 7 and he said it has been “always an idea I’ve supported since then”.

Teen parliament hopeful Lachlan Duggan has a plan to provide savings for families at the fuel pump. Picture: Mark Brake

“There’s sort of a time frame where it needs to happen within and if you wait 10, maybe 15 years I don’t know how many petrol cars will be left on the roads,” Lachlan said.

“You might lose the demand for petrol.”

His plan would involve building a refinery and installing “a little bit of farming infrastructure”.

“Seaweed grows really well off the coast of South Australia,” Lachlan said.

He highlighted the Limestone Coast as an area where seaweed production would work particularly well.

“You could even export it (the biofuel) to the national market,” Lachlan said.

“You could be seeing the revenue going back to the government budget.”

Naturally, with such a forward thinking plan for the future, Lachlan said he wants to enter into a career in politics after he finishes school.

“I think standing up for what you believe in is important,” he said.

Following the Teen parliament 2024 event, there will be scholarships awarded to standout students with 10 of the cohort each receiving $10,000.

Among the scholarship winners from last year was Juliana Lanzilli, now 17, who advocated for more financial literacy to be introduced into the school curriculum.

Port Lincoln High School student and scholarship winner Seth Kayser brought his passion for energy and shared his ideas for a nuclear-powered future at last year’s Teen parliament.

And young Indigenous advocate Jackson, who was awarded the $10,000 scholarship, campaigned for support for young people to lead them away from crime.