Hon Wheatley was at the time appearing as a guest on JTV’s ‘The Big Story’ on Friday, May 5, 2023, with Cathy O. Richards to take about his new portfolio after moving from Government backbencher in the last Unity Government.

Speaking on some seniors he knew, Hon Whatley added, “They listen to the radio a lot, and so they are very much in tune with what is happening in the county… sometimes I’m shocked that they keep these details in their mind,” he said.

‘Even the children too, I was surprised how intuned they were in this elections cycle, and they could engage you on issues. There is hope, I felt empowered and obligated at the same time to pay more attention, particularly to these young people,” he said.

Youths facing challenges in today's world - Hon Whealtey

Meanwhile, Hon Wheatley said his experience in dealing with youths especially, has caused him to want to understand more of what challenges youths face in the territory.

He added that he is encouraged to engage more, which he said includes to, “sit and listen to these young persons, understand what their concerns are, understand what their aspirations are because they live in a time that is almost foreign to us.”

Hon Whatley noted that he understands also, that some of the challenges of today’s world faced by youths are issues that the older generation may not understand.

“They are facing other challenges besides technology and that is part I think we often miss, what are the real challenges of our young people and some strange things do come up,” he said.

Hon Wheatley highlighted that youths need attention and when the focus is always on solving bigger problems, there are smaller subtle issues like youth challenges that often need attention too.