They may be too young to vote, but given the chance to grill the prime minister, primary school students have serious questions about the issues that could shape their future. A grade 6 class from St Francis of Assisi School in Canberra was given 30 minutes to ask Anthony Albanese anything they wanted at a press conference at Parliament House, organised by children's TV news program BTN. The students came up with their own questions, and negotiated the final list among themselves. "It was challenging, because [you worry] the prime minister could maybe get offended — some of the questions are bit personal," student Jennifer said. Between the hard-hitting questions, student Rory said they "tried to squeeze in some funny ones". BTN contacted opposition leader Peter Dutton requesting an interview, but did not receive a response. Here's a selection of what the students most wanted to know. 'Will young Australians be able to afford to buy houses in the future?' Several students had raised concerns about housing policy ahead of the press conference. "That's a big one, because I don't want to be homeless," Rory said. Mr Albanese said there was "no short-term fix" to housing shortages, and breaking into the market was "harder for younger generations". "The key to housing policy is supply," he said. "We've got an objective of 1.2 million homes to be built over this decade that we're in now. "We think that will be really important to give you the opportunity to buy a home." 'What is the hardest part of being the prime minister?' The fact that "there are only 24 hours in the day", according to Mr Albanese. "I have such a busy schedule, so I wish sometimes I had more time," he said. 'How will Donald Trump affect Australia?' Mr Albanese said Australia would have a "constructive relationship" with the United States. "I had a very good conversation with President Trump after he got elected," he said. "We're different countries, and so we have different political systems, and we have our own Australian values as well." He said Mr Trump's decision to withdraw from the United Nations' Paris Climate Agreement, and remove funding from international aid organisations, would not influence Australia. "We will make sure that we make our own decisions there," Mr Albanese said. 'Did you ever run for school or house captain when you were a child?' This one was a sensitive topic for the prime minister. "I didn't get to be a school or house captain. That's a very raw thing that you've raised," he told the students. "I wasn't even allowed to be a prefect. "[I'm] not quite sure why that was the case." 'If we choose to use nuclear energy in the future, how will we store its waste?' Mr Albanese said that question was better suited to Peter Dutton, who wants to build nuclear reactors around Australia if elected. "I am not a supporter of nuclear energy in Australia," Mr Albanese said. "I want to get on with what we are doing, because our coal-fired power stations are reaching the end of their life. "Renewables and gas is, I think, the way to go." 'Do you have some hobbies?' Watching sport, including rugby league and AFL, and walking the dog rated a mention. "My dog, Toto, she takes up a bit of time," Mr Albanese said. "When I was your age, I used to collect stamps … and I also collected footy cards. "When I was elected prime minister, you have to move to The Lodge here in Canberra, so I found a shoebox full of all the sets of footy cards that I had … going back to the 1970s when I was at school." 'How can young people help the environment?' The prime minister commended the students for their interest in the environment. "Young people I find are much more conscious about the environment than my generation was," he said. "I think how young people can help is to remind your parents and others who are older than you of what your values are and why it's important that all of us are responsible." 'How can we help support peace in the Middle East?' Mr Albanese told the students both the federal government and opposition supported a two-state solution to the Israel-Gaza conflict. "It's not easy, and no-one should think it's easy, but the alternative is devastating — to think that you could just have ongoing conflict," he said. "We need a breakthrough." He also said Australia needed to "play a constructive role to oppose the actions of terrorists". An 'extremely engaged' generation Associate Professor Faith Gordon from the ANU College of Law said she was not surprised by the students' willingness to tackle heavy topics, as young generations were "extremely engaged" in world affairs. "Social media has a huge part to play in young people connecting with others, being educated, but also mobilising groups of young people to have protests," she said. Dr Gordon said it was uncommon for young Australians to be members of political parties, but they were embracing "a new form of politics and activism". "They feel part of an international movement on these issues," she said. "Through research that I've done, I know that young people are extremely articulate … and they actually want the politicians to find solutions to address these issues."