For the past 20 years, the annual What Matters? Writing Competition has asked young Australians to write an answer to the question: what matters to you?

Inspired by the commitment of former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam to involving young people in shaping Australia's future, this national writing competition is open to students in years 5-12. It encourages young Australians to raise their voices and know that their perspectives are valuable, no matter their age, background or viewpoint.

The What Matters? Writing Competition is run by the Whitlam Institute within Western Sydney University. More about What Matters? can be found here.

Years 5 & 6 Category – Winner

Willa Calic - South Hobart Primary School

I look around and my eyes are met with the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. Small rays of sunlight reach down through the overhead branches, casting odd shadows all throughout the ush. Tiny critters race through the leaf litter, scurrying away at every sudden movement I make. I spot several cockatoos way up in the canopy and wonder what life would be like as a bird, soaring above everything and seeing the whole world below you.

The trees are flickering with life as the first droplets of rain start to fall. I quicken my pace so I can reach the shelter of a large Lace Fern I had seen many times before. Still holding the bunch of scoparia I had collected earlier, I run through the dense forest and my lungs are filled with the fresh cold Tasmanian air that I love and cherish so much.

My eyes are drawn across the land, to the beautiful mountain above, kunanyi, and the fast-flowing rivulet below. I smile as I think that no matter what that mountain and that river will always be there watching over nipaluna, Hobart. They will be there as we grow up and learn new things.

By the time I reach the Lace Fern I am fully soaked and dripping from head to toe, but I don't care. It makes me feel alive and free and I'm buzzing with excitement as a kookaburra laughs in the canopy nearby. I scan the trees until I find the majestic bird just as it lifts of into the sky.

My ears are met with the sound of the rivulet trickling down at the bottom of the hill, and as the sudden burst of rain clears, I tiptoe down to the riverbank, pull off my sneakers and plunge my feet into the cold icy water, my heartbeat slows as I relax.

In this peaceful moment I feel calm and relaxed, and I wish that I could sit there for hours, with my eyes closed and my mind at rest.

I hear a splash and I come back to my senses just as a silky dark shape dives beneath the surface of the water, its majestic body gliding deeper into the river.

My eyes follow the platypus deep into the water, it's bill cutting through the surface as it glides soundlessly out of sight. My heart is filled with joy, and I am at peace with the world around me.

These beautiful moments are what makes my life full of happiness. This is what matters to me.