The LITTLE Committee | The LITTLE Committee

Statistically speaking, people over fifteen years old are the worst offenders when it comes to littering. For reasons unknown, once people turn fifteen they begin to litter more heavily and continue to do so for the rest of their lives.
That’s why Keep Australia Beautiful has put us in charge of fixing the problem.

We’re all kids under fifteen, hand picked to join The LITTLE Committee, determined to put an end to adults littering in Australia.Our job is to become the new face of litter in Australia though advertising campaigns, in the media and by meeting with important people.

FROM THE CHAIRPERSON

Australia really needs The LITTLE Committee because we have a real litter problem that will destroy our world if we don’t fix it soon. Everyone on The LITTLE Committee is extremely excited, but we realise that we have a lot of responsibility as well.

Over the next year, you can expect to see solutions to stop adults littering that The LITTLE Committee will come up with together. In the meantime, please try really hard not to litter.

Mia Vissenjoux
Chairperson of The LITTLE Committee

THE CHARTER

VISION
The LITTLE Committee’s vision is to be Australia’s most valuable program for ideas, information and communication aimed at stopping adults from littering, both now and in the future.

KEY OBJECTIVES
Amongst the many important objectives of The LITTLE Committee, members will:
•Work as part of a like-minded team of experts to make decisions on campaign and advertising ideas to stop litter in Australia.
• Advise & assist Keep Australia Beautiful in the ongoing fight against litter.
• Have a positive influence on the behaviour of adults to help change Australians’ littering habits.
•Represent kids under the age of 15 throughout Australia highlighting how good they are at not littering.

From the Chair

The LITTLE Committee is made up of kids under fifteen from all across Australia. We were put through a rigorous recruitment process where we met with people from Keep Australia Beautiful and Natasha Stott Despoja.

There are ten of us including a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and a representative from each State and Territory. We’re all very different but we have one thing in common; we’re determined to put an end to adults littering.

Mia Vissenjoux, 12
Chairperson

Mia’s record promoting environmental causes is impressive. And she’s not shy, making a name for herself in the media and as a keynote speaker. She has even presented to the Board of Qantas. Somehow she manages to find time for ballet, jazz, hip-hop and tap dancing.

As Chairperson of The LITTLE Committee, Mia draws on her strong leadership skills to achieve even bigger things, “I hope that we will all be able to come together from around the country and put our heads together to tackle this problem.” She likes chocolate. A lot.

Timothy Whelan, 12
Vice-Chairperson

Timothy’s a numbers man. He thinks that sometimes they tell stories in a way that words can’t. Timothy has been described as being “blessed with a wonderful intellect and a fascination for thinking”, which is why he’s the perfect Vice-Chairperson of The LITTLE Committee.

He believes that some people fail to take into account the real cost of their littering behaviour, which is why they still do it. “People litter because they think it’s easier or cheaper than walking two meters to a bin. Trust me, it’s not.” Timothy’s a keen ten-pin bowler.

Serena Barton, 10
Northern Territory

Serena knows how to make people laugh but she thinks that litter is no laughing matter. During the day she is an Eco Warrior at her school, which is actually not as scary as it sounds.

She’s joined The LITTLE Committee because she could no longer stand by while adults littered, “I have been very disappointed in all the littering that’s going on and I want to help before it gets worse.” Serena has a fridge magnet that says, “Save the world, it’s the only place with chocolate.”

Holly Drake-Brockman, 12
South Australia

Holly might seem like a sporty girl but it’s her ideas about litter reduction that have landed her the job as the South Australian LITTLE Committee representative.

She thinks that people fall squarely into two camps, those that never litter and those who always do. She’s got zero tolerance for adults who are too lazy to bin their rubbish, “I can’t talk to strangers, if it was someone I knew caught littering I would tell them politely but firmly to pick it up and put it in the bin.” Holly loves Italian food, especially pizza, pasta and bruschetta.

Lachlan Moir, 9
Western Australia

Lachlan means business. When he applied for The LITTLE Committee he sent a photo of himself with a giant snake draped around his neck.

He’s the youngest member of The LITTLE Committee, which sort of makes him the most qualified. He knows exactly what the problem is and he’s determined to fix it, “Litter destroys animals habitats and it makes the world a yucky place to live.” Lachlan’s happy to admit that his cat Simba is very lazy.

Charlie Roache, 10
Victoria

Charlie’s a problem solver, and he knows litter is a problem that needs solving. He thinks that some of the biggest problems can have really simple solutions.

Living in a state that relies on tourism, Charlie understands how litter can be more than just an environmental problem, “I hate having litter in our state. It looks dirty, messy and is really unattractive to tourists.” Charlie wasn’t always as environmentally conscious; when he was three he flushed his Nemo underpants down the toilet so “they could join the other fish.”

Georgia Taylor, 11
Queensland

Georgia cut her anti-litter teeth before she even lost her two-front ones. She was leader of the environmental group at her school, which kicked off her ambition to end litter.

She’s also a keen marketer, being involved in running anti-litter campaigns aimed at kids. Now she’s proven her credentials by running campaigns for kids, she’s ready to turn her focus to adults. “I really enjoy environmental work I do at school and I’m on The LITTLE Committee because I wanted to do it on a bigger scale.” Georgia had a chicken called Sk8er Chick, but things got weird when it turned into a rooster.

Elliot Thorp, 12
Tasmania

Elliot is a star debater and there’s nobody he would more like to debate than a littering adult. He has a four-point plan to address litter that he hopes to put into action through The LITTLE Committee.

Elliot is a part of what he calls, “the generation against litter.” Rather than seeing his age as a disadvantage, he actually thinks that being young will help, “I believe that if an adult was caught littering by a child they would probably question themselves before ever doing it again.” Elliot wants to visit Germany because he likes sausages and cake.

Patrick Walker, 12
Australian Capital Territory

Patrick’s career path took on a new direction when he replaced his dream of being a zoologist with the goal of becoming a politician. He wants to get involved with politics so he can help make Australia a better place. Once he’s old enough to vote, of course.

He thinks that educating adults about litter will go a long way to solving the problem, “I think that people don’t really know what happens with their litter, which is why they do it so much.” Patrick lives a meat-free life; even his tacos are vegetarian.

Amelia Warde, 10
New South Wales

Amelia knows how to get things done. She loves to solve big picture problems but she’s just as happy to get her hands dirty (always washing them after, of course).

She’s got a big list of environmental priorities, but litter is number one. In fact, Amelia wonders why it’s not a higher priority for adults generally, “I feel strongly about what is happening to our environment and think it’s awful. I want to make a change in the hope that adults will stop littering.” Amelia has a minted seal point rag doll cat called Misty.

Mia Vissenjoux, 12
Chairperson

WHO IS BEHIND THE LITTLE COMMITTEE?

Keep Australia Beautiful is behind The LITTLE Committee and is giving each child on the committee its total support. With additional help from Natasha Stott Despoja as mentor, Keep Australia Beautiful is optimistic the committee will find great success in the task of cleaning up Australia.

HOW EXACTLY IS KEEP AUSTRALIA BEAUTIFUL INVOLVED?

Keep Australia Beautiful is entrusting The LITTLE Committee with the job of encouraging people to stop littering. The committee has the full support of Keep Australia Beautiful’s national network, including the support of other organisations and governments who want to see a cleaner Australia.

WHY IS NATASHA STOTT DEPOJA INVOLVED?

Natasha is a mentor to each member of The LITTLE Committee, as well as mentor for the committee as a whole. She’s a great ambassador for everything the committee aims to achieve. Natasha was the youngest woman to ever become a member of Federal Parliament, so she knows a thing or two about how to deal with some big issues at such a young age. Just as important, she’s also a mum who enjoys the company of children.

ARE THESE JOBS FOR REAL?

Yes. These are real jobs and each member of the committee is contributing to finding solutions to litter problems that affect their own state or territory and the country as a whole. The input of each member will play an integral part in developing positive ways to move forward.

ARE KIDS REALLY THE BEST PEOPLE FOR THE JOB?

We know that people litter more once they reach the age of 15 years old. We’re not sure why that is, but we hope to find out what we can do about it from people who don’t litter. With guidance from Natasha Stott Despoja, we hope to learn a great deal from The LITTLE Committee.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A MEMBER TURNS 15 YEARS OLD?

Members of The LITTLE Committee will certainly grow out of their roles. It will be sad to see any member leave the committee, but their position will be re-advertised and filled by an equally gifted young person who will represent their particular state or territory.

CAN I CONTACT MEMBERS OF THE LITTLE COMMITTEE DIRECTLY?

If you’d like to get in touch with any of the members of The LITTLE Committee you can email info@little.org.au and we’ll pass your message on. If you have a media or speaking enquiry see the “Media & Speaking” section of this website.

CAN A LITTLE COMMITTEE MEMBER SPEAK AT MY EVENT?

Sure. The LITTLE Committee members would love to be involved in business conferences, sporting events, breakfasts and many other things. Email speaking@little.org.au with your event details and we’ll see what we can do.