Sarah Witty (Melbourne, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today I rise to speak not just as the member for Melbourne but as a voice for the thousands of people in my community who know we are in a climate emergency. Australians endorsed the Albanese government's policy agenda at this election, which involved protecting jobs and the environment. Our platform included making sensible reforms to protect our environment.

In my first months as the member for Melbourne, I've met with advocates from local climate action and environmental groups urgently fighting for these issues. But I've also heard from dozens of other community organisations and hundreds of passionate individuals—people who are worried, who are informed and who are ready for action now. From the grassroots efforts of Yarra Climate Action Now, known as YCAN, to the leadership of Electrify Yarra and the national advocacy from the Australian Conservation Foundation, the message is clear. 'Our communities are mobilising, they are innovating and their message is constant: we are doing our part; we need you to do yours.'

At the May election, people put their trust in Labor and rejected the extreme politics on both sides. People in Melbourne want governments, businesses and environmental groups to work together to protect our environment. We want to reap the climate health and economic benefits of sustainable development. My community tells me time is up for taking small steps. Fires, floods and heatwaves are not a distant threat. The impacts of climate change are no longer abstract. They are here. They are now. They are visible. And they are hitting the most vulnerable in our communities first and hardest. In inner Melbourne, it's renters in old drafty houses, struggling to afford cooling, and it's families trying to make their homes cleaner and cheaper to run. People in Fitzroy, Carlton, Richmond and Collingwood don't need another warning from the IPCC. They see it in their gardens, in their power bills and in the smoke haze that creeps in during the summer fire season. They are not waiting; they are acting.

I want to tell you about two local environment groups in Melbourne who are taking action. Electrify Yarra is helping households to ditch gas and switch to clean, electric appliances powered by rooftop solar. They are proving that climate action isn't a sacrifice; it's an upgrade. YCAN has spent over a decade knocking on doors, hosting community forums and holding all levels of government to account. Their message is powerful: climate justice must be social justice. And the Australian Conservation Foundation continues to remind us that protecting country is not an option; it's a duty, especially to First Nations people, who have cared for these lands for millennia.

These groups and so many others are showing us that a clean energy future isn't a dream; it's already underway. But they can't do it alone. That's why I'm proud to support Labor's Cheaper Home Batteries Program, which is rolling out right now. This is real action that will help households store solar power, slash bills and ease the burden on the grid, all while cutting emissions. It's important in places like Melbourne, where so many residents are embracing clean energy but need support to make it affordable and accessible. Labor is also investing in community batteries, upgrading the grid and electrifying our transport system—important steps that move us towards a zero-emissions future.

But we must keep Melbourne going. The people of Melbourne know that a serious response to the climate emergency means continuing to invest in renewable energy and making it accessible to households and businesses, and supercharging the electrification of homes and transport, especially for renters, public housing residents and those living in older buildings. The people of Melbourne are not asking for miracles. They're not asking for perfection; they're asking for courage.

When we act on climate, we protect lives, we create jobs, we clean up our air and we build a more just and sustainable Australia. So let's honour the work already happening on the ground by groups like YCAN, Electrify Yarra and many, many others, while we in this place seize the moment before us. We have a responsibility to listen to the communities on the frontline of the fight, to stand with them and to act with urgency. (Time expired)

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