BY ALEX DRISCOLL
Ethan Hrnjak’s entry into council politics at just 21 proves age is no boundary when wanting to make a difference
‘Youthful energy’ might not be a term many associate with local council. However, since the elections, Frenchs Forest Ward councillor Ethan Hrnjak has been bringing exactly that. “It’s quite surprising, the age difference we’ve got on the council,” Ethan says. “I think the median age on our council is probably over 50.” The councillor stands out significantly for that exact reason: he is 21 years old and alongside fellow Greens councillor Bonnie Harvey, is the youngest-ever member of council.
However, despite his age, political ambitions and aspirations are some things that Ethan has held for a significant portion of his life. “Funnily enough, I think it was my Year 6 visit to Parliament House in Canberra that really set it off,” Ethan wryly recalled, with his goals blooming from there.
“When I was around 17, I enrolled to vote,” he remembers. “I had a lot of climate anxiety and concern about the future. I think politics has been an avenue for me to feel better about that stuff.”
Not long after this, Ethan took the plunge into politics, running for the Narrabeen Ward in local council elections (during his HSC) and missing out on a place by 400 votes.
A 19-year-old Ethan also ran for Wakehurst in the 2023 State Election and Warringah at the federal, before once again tackling local council. The failure of the Liberals to nominate their candidates ironically opened the door to election for Ethan, with less competition for spots. All this has been achieved while Ethan has been completing a Bachelor of Law at Macquarie University.
Ethan loves being out on the Beaches
If there is anything Ethan wants younger citizens to remember, it’s that council politics matter. With gazes often set to federal and international issues, Ethan reminds that ‘local council is the closest level of government to the people, or at least it should be.’
With the council often working on 20 to even 40-year strategies, Ethan is keen to highlight that it will be the younger generations of the Northern Beaches that will inherit the results of these plans. Yet when a recent consultation was put out to the general public, only five of the 400 responses were from young people. “That document is going to guide council for the next 20 years,” Ethan said. “This is one of many instances where I think young people (can) really play an important role.”
Ethan encourages any and every young person to get involved in politics, whether it be local, state or federal. “Join your local branch of whatever party you subscribe yourself to figure out if it’s right for you, and then you could really go anywhere from there. I think that age is less and less of an issue now.”
Though he is not entirely sure where exactly he will be a few years from now, political ambitions still abound in Ethan’s future, with him suggesting he would one day love to support the Senate candidates running for the Greens. For now, though, Ethan’s journey to the local council is ample proof that age should not matter when entering politics.