Steph Hodgins-May's recent appearances (OpenAustralia.org)
Labor Government | Statements by Senators | Senate debates
Australians woke up this week to another interest rate rise, and they know exactly what that means for their wallets. Mortgage holders are being pushed closer to the edge, and renters are next in...
Australians woke up this week to another interest rate rise, and they know exactly what that means for their wallets. Mortgage holders are being pushed closer to the edge, and renters are next in line as landlords pass on the pain. Families are already making impossible choices—rent or groceries, child care or health care—just to keep a roof over their heads. Then we learnt that Labor are selling off public Defence land, including Victoria Barracks, to patch up the budget that they've blown. Public land that could help ease the housing crisis is to be sold off instead of used for public housing. It'll be handed to private developers while more public housing towers face demolition in my state. You are ripping the public off, and, honestly, can anyone still be surprised? This is a government that hands out tax breaks willy-nilly to wealthy property investors that inflate house prices and lock renters out of ownership. It's a government that takes donations from gas giants while energy prices soar and that subsidises fossil fuel companies and then claims that there's no money left for housing. There are billions for submarines that may never arrive, but nurses, teachers and early educators can't afford to live where they work. There are millions for multinational consultants, but there's no budget for public housing, schools or community safety. Let's be clear. The money exists, and this is about priorities. Australians aren't locked out of homes because they are poor; they're locked out because this government keeps heading public wealth to the corporations driving the crisis. People have every right to be angry—and they are. They are being priced out of housing, squeezed on energy and told to tighten their belts while others cash in. The Greens will keep fighting for homes that people can actually afford, for lower bills and for a government that puts communities before corporations.
Defence Amendment (Parliamentary Joint Committee on Defence) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | Senate debates
The question is that the bill be read a second time.
Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Banning Dirty Donations) Bill 2026; Second Reading | Bills | Senate debates
I move: That this bill be now read a second time. I seek leave to table an explanatory memorandum relating to the bill. Leave granted. I table an explanatory memorandum and seek leave to have the...
I move: That this bill be now read a second time. I seek leave to table an explanatory memorandum relating to the bill. Leave granted. I table an explanatory memorandum and seek leave to have the second reading speech incorporated in Hansard. Leave granted. The speech read as follows— I welcome the opportunity to re-introduce this bill today, and continue our efforts to get big money out of politics. I acknowledge the important work done on this issue by my colleague Senator Larissa Waters, as well as former Senators Lee Rhiannon and Richard Di Natale, academics, and civil society organisations that have assisted in the development of this bill previously. I also note that electoral reform passed last year after a last-minute backroom deal with the Coalition. That deal kept the disclosure threshold far too high and refused to wind in donations from harmful industries with a history of seeking to influence decision-makers. This bill seeks to go further than that weak, compromised legislation, restoring some important integrity to our democratic processes. If passed, this bill would stop dirty industries—those with a track record of using donations to shape policy and gain access—from making political donations. These include the fossil fuel, banking, defence, pharmaceutical, liquor, tobacco, and gambling industries. The bill also limits individual donations to $3,000 per election term, dramatically reducing the ability of wealthy individuals or entities to buy influence and ensuring a fairer, more representative political system. There has never been a more urgent time for donation reform. Trust in parliament and in politicians is at an all-time low. Australians are increasingly convinced that their representatives serve corporate donors rather than the public interest. This bill is grounded not just in principle, but in evidence. In December 2024, the Centre for Public Integrity published Hey, Big Spender: What 25 years of political party income disclosures reveal, a comprehensive analysis of a quarter-century of political finance data in Australia. The report paints a stark picture of a political system increasingly dependent on large donors, with corporate interests and wealthy individuals dominating party income while ordinary Australians are effectively priced out of political participation. The report shows that Australia's major parties have become structurally reliant on big money, with a relatively small number of high-value donors accounting for a disproportionate share of total income. It also highlights how high disclosure thresholds and delayed reporting obscure the true scale and sources of political influence, often revealing who funded parties only long after elections are decided. Crucially, Hey, Big Spender concludes that transparency alone has failed to curb the corrupting influence of money in politics, and that donation caps and bans on high-risk donors are essential to restoring integrity. Over the past decade, more than $230 million in corporate donations have flowed to the major parties. These funds come from banks, mining and resources companies, fossil fuel producers, property developers, big pharma, liquor and tobacco companies, and gambling operators. These are the interests that have consistently put profits ahead of people's needs. These donations are not acts of civic generosity. They are investments designed to secure influence and ensure regulatory and policy outcomes that favour private interests. Evidence of this is clear. For over a decade, the Greens have maintained the Democracy for Sale website, tracking donations and exposing the nexus between corporate money and policy outcomes. In 2018, the Senate Select Committee into the Political Influence of Donations provided examples showing how corporate donations have directly benefited companies through legislation, approvals, and subsidies. The public continues to pay the price through climate inaction, unchecked gambling harm, and governments that allow corporations to avoid paying their fair share of tax while ordinary Australians struggle to access essential services. Until we break the hold of dirty donations over the major parties, big corporations will keep winning and the community loses out. We have already seen how property development donations have influenced planning outcomes in Victoria. In Melbourne, generous contributions from developers have coincided with rezoning approvals in environmentally sensitive areas, and exemptions from affordable housing obligations, undermining public trust and locking in outcomes that benefit private profit over the community. Queensland and New South Wales have legislated to restrict donations from property developers, measures upheld by the High Court. This bill extends those protections federally and acknowledges the influence of other key dirty industries. Fossil fuel interests have continued to pour millions into the major parties. Meanwhile, federal and state governments handed out $14.5 billion in fossil fuel subsidies in 2023-24, with forward estimates of around $65-67 billion. In the 2025 federal budget, spending on housing and homelessness services was $6.9 billion, while tax breaks for landlords and investors—including negative gearing and other concessions—exceeded $12 billion, more than Commonwealth investment in social housing, homelessness services, and rent assistance combined. The most recent federal budget expanded fuel tax credits and other subsidies for fossil fuel producers and property developers, while ordinary Australians face crushing housing costs and energy bills. It is a very high return on investment for these donors and a terrible deal for the rest of us. Donations bought the previous Liberal government's paralysis on climate change at a time when Australians faced more extreme bushfires, crippling droughts, and floods. Generous contributions continue to cloud judgment under the Albanese Labor government as new coal and gas projects receive approvals and taxpayer money flows into destructive projects. The gas industry benefits not only from donations but from a revolving door between politics and industry. Former resources ministers and senior advisers routinely move into well-paid industry roles that blur the lines between public duty and corporate profit. Despite exporting nearly 80 per cent of production, governments continue to subsidise exploration and life extensions for projects like the recent Otway Basin acreage release and Woodside's North West Shelf extension to 2070. These decisions lock in decades of production, little of which benefits domestic energy security while maximising profits for exporters. Politicians continue to claim that Australia needs more gas, even though this narrative ignores reality and undermines the transition to renewables. The cosy relationship between fossil fuel donors and policymakers has also contributed to the weak 2035 emission reduction target set by the Albanese Government last year. These targets are far from the deep cuts science says are needed to limit warming. Dozens of coal and gas projects continue to be approved, including expansions and extensions, putting even these weak targets at serious risk. Donations give industry leverage to resist reforms that would force them to pay their fair share or transition to cleaner practices. The banking and financial sector is also a regular contributor and beneficiary. The sector has donated roughly $76 million since 2012. These contributions have historically shielded banks from accountability, delaying meaningful reforms and protections for customers. Only public outrage forced the Banking Royal Commission, which exposed widespread misconduct. How much faster would the commission have happened if the Liberal, National, and Labor parties were not on the payroll of the banks? Would we have seen stronger action if donations hadn't bought political protection? The gambling industry is another major donor that governments have consistently failed to confront. Companies such as Sportsbet and Tabcorp have poured millions of dollars into state and federal political parties, while the gambling lobby has become the most prolific lobbying force in Australia, outspending and outnumbering almost every other industry in its efforts to shape public policy. This influence is not abstract—it is sustained, organised, and targeted at maintaining a regulatory environment that protects profits at the expense of the public interest. The consequences are severe and well documented. Gambling harm costs Australian communities tens of billions of dollars each year, driving addiction, family breakdown, financial distress, and suicide, particularly in low-income communities. Yet despite repeated parliamentary inquiries and clear recommendations to reduce poker machine intensity, curb saturation advertising, and strengthen protections for online gambling, meaningful reform has been delayed or abandoned. Ministers continue to ignore their own evidence, prioritising the interests of a powerful donor and lobbying sector over the health and wellbeing of Australians. These donations are only those publicly disclosed. They exclude money paid for access meetings, memberships, and subscriptions that may serve as indirect influence, as well as funds channelled through intermediary or fundraising bodies. Regardless of source, donations come with an expectation of results, eroding public trust. By banning donations from these industries and limiting individual contributions to $3,000, this bill implements key recommendations of the Senate Select Committee into the Political Influence of Donations. It makes it an offence for a prohibited donor to make a donation or solicit another person to make a donation on its behalf. It is also an offence to accept a donation from a prohibited donor. This bill also limits other political donations to $3,000 per election term. By aggregating and capping political donations, this bill seeks to level the playing field and prevent those with more money from gaining disproportionate influence, consistent with the High Court's recognition in McCloy v NSW. The bill will limit political donations but does not restrict civil society organisations from fundraising for their advocacy work. The work of unions, charities, and community groups must continue. Electoral expenditure caps for these organisations should be introduced to ensure proper balance. The bill complements ongoing reforms to strengthen disclosure, including real-time reporting, so Australians no longer wait 18 months to see who is buying influence. Transparency alone is insufficient, but it is a necessary step to restore confidence. Of course, much more work is required to restore trust in our Parliament. The Greens remain deeply concerned about the inadequacy of the federal lobbying regime, particularly in light of sustained calls from academics, civil society, and the broader community to rein in the influence of corporate lobbyists, close the revolving door between industry and ministerial offices, extend the code of conduct to in-house lobbyists, and introduce meaningful enforcement mechanisms with real penalties for breaches. We are also concerned by this Government's increasing reliance on secrecy, reflected in record-low compliance with Senate orders for the production of documents and the unchecked use of public interest immunity claims to undermine the Parliament's ability to hold the Government to account. The 2025 election results confirm that Australians want a government that is transparent, accountable, and representative. This bill is an important first step toward removing corporate influence and restoring public faith in our democracy. If we are committed to enhancing the democratic process, which surely is something that every parliament should regularly turn its mind to, this should be a priority. This bill does not stifle debate or prevent individuals from donating to support a political party. It bans donations from industries that have become associated with having a corrupting influence on how we work as decision makers and will return democracy to the community. I commend the bill to the Senate. I seek leave to continue my remarks later. Leave granted; debate adjourned.
Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Banning Dirty Donations) Bill 2026; First Reading | Bills | Senate debates
I move: That the following bill be introduced: A Bill for an Act to amend the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, and for related purposes. Question agreed to. I present the bill and move: That this...
I move: That the following bill be introduced: A Bill for an Act to amend the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, and for related purposes. Question agreed to. I present the bill and move: That this bill may proceed without formalities and be now read a first time. Question agreed to. Bill read a first time.
Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide | Motions | Senate debates
Order! The time for this debate has expired. The question is that the amendment moved by Senator Chisholm be agreed to. Question agreed to. Original question, as amended, agreed to.
Better Together Social Connection Program, Energy, International Relations: Australia and Israel | Adjournment | Senate debates
In my home of Port Phillip, the local council will soon vote on whether to end or continue developing aged social inclusion services through the better together program, a community based social...
In my home of Port Phillip, the local council will soon vote on whether to end or continue developing aged social inclusion services through the better together program, a community based social connection program funded under the Commonwealth Home Support Program. The prospect that the council may walk away from a proven model, only to replace it with something that will ultimately cost more, is deeply concerning and a real shame for the city of Port Phillip. As a user of the program said: It has reduced our loneliness and isolation. We became friends with other participants and staff who are kind and caring. We felt a greater level of community connection and cohesion. We felt that we belong. People who rely on the better together program to stay active and avoid isolation are rightly worried. They fear a decline in quality and accessibility, along with higher personal costs, outcomes that have become all too common in aged care. I urge the City of Port Phillip to continue providing these social inclusion services in their current form to protect the quality, continuity and accountability that public delivery provides, and I urge the Labor government to confront the broader aged-care crisis, as my colleague Senator Allman-Payne has. We must properly fund public and community based care and end the overreliance on for-profit providers from early childhood right through to aged care. Our communities deserve nothing less. Think Australia's emissions are insignificant? The Otway Basin acreage release has just opened 2.5 million hectares of Southern Ocean waters to gas exploration—exploration by multinational corporations with a track record of pillaging our environment, shipping gas overseas and not even cleaning up after themselves. We are the third-largest exporter of fossil fuels in the world, and the coalition thinks that's great. 'If we're going to be climate criminals,' they figure, 'we might as well get away with the money.' Except we don't. We export the vast majority of our gas overseas for next to nothing, a deal so lopsided it's made us a global laughing stock. We sell gas to Japan, and Japan onsells it and somehow makes more money than we do. Labor thinks that's a great arrangement too. They're putting our marine ecosystems at risk through seismic blasting so their donors and foreign buyers can make a profit. Labor's 2½ million hectare Otway Basin release isn't just another bad climate decision. It flies in the face of communities who have said loudly and clearly that our ocean is not for sale. That's why my Greens colleagues and I joined hundreds of Victorians in a paddle-out with Surfrider in Torquay on the weekend. We'll challenge you in the ocean, we'll challenge you in the parliament, and we will challenge you at the ballot box at the next Victorian state election in November. In October 2023, he endorsed collective punishment against all Palestinians in Gaza, and his comments have been used to prove the crime of genocide. In the following two years, his government has overseen the killing of at least 70,000 people, overwhelmingly women and children. He's the head of state of a country responsible for blockading Gaza, the mass starvation of children, and indiscriminate bombing of schools, hospitals and refugee camps, actions that continues today. Since 2023 the country he represents has continued to perpetrate genocide in Palestine as the death toll of journalists rises to 250. He has failed to apologise to the Australian people or the family of Zomi Frankcom after the IDF killed the Australian aid worker. He has stood for photographs with bombs that he's signed his name on with a permanent marker before they were fired into Gaza. Who is he? He is an invited guest to Australia, invited by our prime minister Albanese. He is Israeli President Isaac Herzog, and here is perhaps an easier question: has this government lost all semblance of humanity? It is a great shame that we are inviting this person to our shores when he has perpetrated and overseen these horrific acts perpetrated against Palestinian people. I'm proud to stand with the Greens, in particular my colleague Mehreen Faruqi, in protest, along with the thousands of protesters across our streets who are rejecting the division that this visit will bring.
Environment and Communications References Committee; Reference | Committees | Senate debates
I want to thank my colleague Senator Hanson-Young for this vital referral for a committee inquiry. Here we are again, confronting an industry so deeply embedded in our politics it feels like...
I want to thank my colleague Senator Hanson-Young for this vital referral for a committee inquiry. Here we are again, confronting an industry so deeply embedded in our politics it feels like trying to pry open steel with our bare hands. Gambling isn't only hurting Australians; it is shaping our politics in ways that should concern us and make us very, very mad. Despite the overwhelming evidence of the damage that gambling causes, especially to young people and to vulnerable communities, this government continues to drag its heels. It has been more than two years since an inquiry delivered 31 unanimous recommendations. The evidence is there, the political cover is there, and yet almost nothing has changed—not because the facts and the evidence are unclear but because the gambling lobby is louder and it's richer. And it is far more present in these halls than the people being hurt by gambling. Let's be clear; the gambling lobby has more influence on the Labor Party than Labor's own members, not to mention its voters. The gambling industry is the most prolific lobby group in this country. The Australian Leadership Index shows that they've got 280 lobbyists crawling around Canberra, more than double those from any other harmful industry. When hundreds of paid advocates are knocking on doors, drafting briefs and shaping narratives every day, reform doesn't stall by accident; it stalls by design. The money doesn't end with lobbying. It flows through the corporate boxes, free tickets, exclusive events—privileges that everyday Australians do not see but captured politicians do. In just two years, Labor and coalition MPs were showered with $245,000 in free sports tickets by organisations opposing a gambling advertising ban. The Prime Minister personally accepted close to $29,000, and Peter Dutton over $21,000. It's influence dressed up as generosity. Imagine being a Labor MP, defending the gambling industry, pretending it's your actual view and not influenced by the truckloads of gifts and donations that you're taking from Sportsbet. 'Disclosure day' at the AEC should be a moment of transparency. Instead it has become a ritual of confirmation: Tabcorp, $60,000; Responsible Wagering, almost $35,000; Clubs Australia, almost $80,000; and Sportsbet, $71,000. Sportsbet is the same company that admitted creating Snapchat filters to promote gambling to our children. When industries that profit from addiction directly fund political parties, it's no surprise when policy mirrors their interests. Then, of course, there's the revolving door. Former ministers, senior advisers and bureaucrats move seamlessly into lucrative industry roles in the very sectors they once regulated. For folks watching at home, in this building they call the gambling boardrooms retirement homes for Labor MPs. That's how deep this problem is. Research published in Public Health Research and Practice shows that over a third of Australia's registered lobbyists once worked inside government. That pipeline corrodes public trust and entrenches conflicts of interest. The government's lobbyist code of conduct is so weak it barely qualifies as regulation. It excludes in-house lobbyists, offers little transparency around ministerial diaries, imposes no meaningful cooling-off periods and carries virtually no penalties. When I questioned the Attorney-General's Department in Senate estimates about enforcement of the Lobbying Code of Conduct, what did I hear? That the typical response to breaches isn't a fine, an investigation, or even a public report. It's engagement, a stern email, a polite chat. That is the total sum of our oversight. The result? A capture of government by an industry that profits from addiction, desperation and misery. It's the same playbook that we've seen from big tobacco, big alcohol and the fossil fuel lobby. Flood the political system with money, influence and favours, normalise harm, frame reform as extreme, delay, delay, delay and cash in on everyday Australians. Meanwhile, the harm escalates. Families lose homes, relationships fracture, women and children face increased violence and people lose their lives. People are literally dying because of the major parties' inability to put people's safety ahead of their dodgy political donations from the gambling lobby. And the harm continues to grow. Around three million Australians now experience gambling harm, financial distress, mental health crises and family breakdown. This isn't just a few problem gamblers. This is a public health crisis comparable to alcohol and tobacco. Young people are being groomed into lifelong customers. Research shows that gambling advertising changes behaviour. One in five young women and one in seven young men have started betting after exposure to ads, and that's just from television. Online it's an absolute minefield. Sport, once a unifying passion, has been saturated. Children learn betting odds before they learn the rules of the game. The harm is real, it's widespread and it is entirely preventable, but only if the government stops working for the lobbyists and starts working for the people who elected it. Australians are already ahead of the parliament. Polling consistently shows how strong support is for advertising bans, for donation caps and for tougher regulation. Yet we remain stalled, waiting, and watching reform hesitate in the shadow of an industry that has made itself unavoidable. I think, and the Greens think, that it's time to cut the cord. Australians think it's time to cut the cord. This inquiry is not symbolic. It is absolutely necessary. It will finally force parliament to confront the full scale of gambling harm in our communities—the financial stress, the family violence and the mental health impacts, and the millions of Australians who are affected. It will also expose how advertising and inducements are used to recruit young people earlier, not as punters but as lifelong customers often targeted when young. It will shine a light on the financial relationships between gambling companies, media organisations and sporting codes and on the web of influence that has kept reforms stalled and kept kids watching ads for products that can ruin their lives. If we can't protect our own democracy from the influence of gambling ads, how can we claim to govern in the public interest? How can we look young people in the eye and say their wellbeing comes second to corporate profit? Is Labor really willing to sacrifice an entire generation to a lifelong, crippling gambling addiction? Your job is to work for the people who elected you, not the people who hand out tickets to the corporate boxes.
Housing | Matters of Urgency | Senate debates
How do you claim to tackle the housing and cost-of-living crises while handing out $360 billion for imaginary subs? How do you say you're easing pressure on families, when one in three big...
How do you claim to tackle the housing and cost-of-living crises while handing out $360 billion for imaginary subs? How do you say you're easing pressure on families, when one in three big corporations pay less tax than a nurse, without upsetting billionaire donors? It's tricky. How do you choose between helping a single parent who can't afford rent or giving yet another tax break to her landlord? How do you tell Gina Rinehart or Anthony Pratt that they might need to pay more tax because nurses and teachers can't put food on the table after paying theirs? Apparently, the answer is simple. Billionaires make massive political donations. Nurses and teachers don't. Inflation isn't driven by a nurse's pay rise; it's driven by corporate greed. The major parties would rather see your mortgage explode than rein in the property moguls in this country. They would rather protect fossil fuel donors than cut your energy bills. It is the same hypocrisy and the same excuses. We must end property investor tax breaks and curb the power of billionaires and corporations, and we must put housing and households first. It seems pretty bloody simple. Families don't need excuses; they need relief. All we need is some courage and some leadership from this government.
Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Firearms and Customs Laws) Bill 2026; Second Reading | Bills | Senate debates
Gun reform is certainly not the whole solution to keeping us safer, but it is a crucial first step taking away one of the most dangerous tools used to cause harm. It is a step that I would have...
Gun reform is certainly not the whole solution to keeping us safer, but it is a crucial first step taking away one of the most dangerous tools used to cause harm. It is a step that I would have assumed uncontroversial in the wake of the tragic events in Bondi. That is why this bill, the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Firearms and Customs Laws) Bill 2026, has the support of the Australian Greens. Right now Australia's firearms laws contain serious loopholes that allow gun owners to endlessly recycle the same justification to accumulate dozens, and in some cases hundreds, of guns. No sensible regime should allow what are basically private arsenals of this scale to exist in our suburbs. It is entirely indefensible. A farmer needs access to a gun, sure—one gun, a few guns—for legitimate purposes. But 100 guns—why? To the opposition senators opposing these reforms, I ask a simple question: why does a farmer need 100 guns? This isn't just about whether ownership is technically lawful; it is about scale, concentration and risk. It is also about the very real possibility of firearms being stolen or misused. Every year more than 2,000 guns are stolen. That is one gun every four hours. Most illegal guns come from thefts of legally owned firearms. To put it simply, the more legal guns there are, the more illegal guns end up in the wrong hands. We cannot talk honestly about gun reform without recognising the warning signs that have too often gone unheard. For decades women and domestic violence survivors have warned us about the danger of firearms in violent homes. They've told us again and again that access to guns escalates threats into fatalities, yet our own gun laws have remained too weak and too fragmented. We also cannot ignore the influence of the gun lobby in this country. Per capita it spends amounts comparable to, and by some measures even higher than, the NRA in the United States. Just like in the US, that influence has worked to stall reform and normalise dangerous levels of gun ownership in Australia. How many debates do we have to have in this place where major party and One Nation politicians argue positions against the interests of their own communities because of dodgy political donations? Fossil fuels, gambling, guns—take the donations away and then honestly tell me that you would oppose these reforms. We are watching, in real time, the consequences of weak gun laws elsewhere: rising political violence, extremism becoming normalised and mass shootings being treated as inevitable. When Australians see mass shootings in America, we look at the lack of action from politicians in the pockets of the gun lobby and thank our lucky stars that we don't have politicians like that here. Well, we do. A mass shooting happens and we have politicians opposing gun laws while accepting donations from the gun lobby. Is this the Australian Senate or is this America? They are not values that Australians accept. That is not the future Australians want. It is time our policy and our leadership catch up. The Greens have always consistently recognised that legitimate needs must be respected in gun law reform and that any reform must reflect that reality. But the Greens do not accept and do not believe the Australian public accepts that any one private citizen has a genuine reason to own dozens or hundreds of guns. The buyback contained in this bill will begin to right this course. When I think about what happened in Bondi, I feel a deep mix of grief and anger. I feel grief for the lives lost, grief for the families and communities who will never be the same and anger—real anger—that once again we are here, after another act of devastating violence, asking ourselves what we could've done differently. I also feel an overwhelming responsibility, and the Greens feel an overwhelming responsibility, not to reach for platitudes or hide behind symbolism but to act decisively and seriously in a way that genuinely reduces the risk of this happening again. If we mean what we say when we say, 'This isn't us,' then we must be prepared to take difficult, concrete steps, and taking dangerous weapons off our streets and out of our communities isn't radical; it's rational. It is the most basic act of harm prevention and it is an essential first step in stopping violence like what we witnessed in Bondi. In Victoria, my home state, there are around 960,000 registered firearms that are owned by more than 236,000 people. These numbers are higher than before the Port Arthur massacre. As the daughter of a fourth-generation farmer, I understand deeply that there are legitimate reasons for firearm ownership in this country. Farmers participate in legitimate regulated activities, and no-one is disputing this. But I feel alarmed when I look at this data because what we are seeing goes far beyond legitimate use. We know from Port Arthur what decisive gun reform can achieve. After that tragedy, Australia acted and it saved lives. Recently, our neighbours in Aotearoa showed that governments could act swiftly and with moral courage after an Islamophobic mass shooting was carried out by a white Australian. Those reforms sent a clear message: the tools of mass violence do not belong in our society. What a shame it is, then, that this reform is not treated as a shared national responsibility today. What a shame that the National Party would rather engage in culture wars than commit, across party lines, to getting unnecessary guns out of our communities and off our streets. This issue should not be partisan. Today, I also recognise—after work from the Greens, my colleagues—the agreement to establish a national firearms safety council as another step towards meaningful gun safety, and I want to thank my colleagues Senator Shoebridge and Senator Larissa Waters for their leadership in that area. These reforms must be our first step, but, of course, we can't pretend that they're the only ones. When I look at my home state of Victoria, particularly in the weeks of horror after Bondi, I feel something else. I feel pride—pride in its diversity and pride in its resilience. In the days and weeks after Bondi, I saw communities come together across faiths and across cultures. Solidarity matters. It reminds us that removing the tools of violence must go hand in hand with confronting hatred, extremism and social fracture before they take hold. Let me be very clear. Suppressing democratic freedoms and protecting some groups over others or vilifying migrants will not make us safer. It will do quite the opposite. Knee-jerk reactions from Labor that follow the coalition down this twisted path of culture wars and divisions do not make us safer. They will not make us safer. So, yes, we must take back firearms as tools of destruction and violence and chaos, but we must make sure that what we do today isn't just symbolic but serious, grounded in evidence, in courage and in a refusal to accept the slow drift towards violence as normal.
Bondi Beach: Attack | Condolences | Senate debates
Like all of us in this chamber today, I rise with a heavy heart. The first night of Hanukkah was meant to be a time of light, reflection and joy. Instead, it has become one of the darkest days in...
Like all of us in this chamber today, I rise with a heavy heart. The first night of Hanukkah was meant to be a time of light, reflection and joy. Instead, it has become one of the darkest days in our nation's history and a moment of profound national heartbreak. We grieve for the 15 innocent people who were murdered at Bondi, for those who were injured and for all of their families, friends and communities affected by this tragedy. Seeing the footage affected us in ways that can't be described. It's sickening, heart-wrenching and tearful when you see a 10-year-old girl, someone's daughter, or someone's father and grandfather—brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, close friends—killed because of what they believed in. I extend my deepest condolences to the Jewish community here in Australia and around the world who are reeling from the shock and pain of this devastating antisemitic attack. I grieve alongside the strong Jewish communities in my home state of Victoria. Among those killed were people who showed extraordinary courage in the face of terror, including Boris and Sofia Gurman, who resisted the armed gunmen. Their bravery must be remembered alongside the horror of that day. This was an attack on Jewish people. It was an attack on all of us. It was an act of hatred intended to divide, to instil fear and to undermine our shared way of life—but it is not who we are. Who we are is seen in the first responders who ran towards danger. Who we are is reflected in those who intervened to stop the gunmen. Who we are is found in people of different faiths, backgrounds and beliefs who have come together in solidarity, care and compassion. The specific targeting of people because of their faith, echoing the atrocity faced by our neighbours in Christchurch, was an act of terrorism aimed squarely at identity and belief. It's deeply disturbing that the terrorism we have seen overseas has occurred here, on our iconic beach, directed at Jewish people. As members of this parliament, we have a responsibility to confront hate and violence wherever it exists, and to make this country safer for everyone. We have a duty to protect Jewish people, just as we have a duty to protect people of the Islamic faith and people of all religions and beliefs. We also have a duty to protect others who experience violence, hatred and discrimination, including the LGBTQI+ communities, First Nations people and the disabled community. Today, we honour the lives lost in one of Australia's worst terrorist attacks. It is a moment for parliament to stand united against antisemitism and against all forms of violent extremism. We must be unequivocal in our rejection of hatred and resolute in the values that make us strong—diversity, shared humanity and acceptance. I will now read a statement from Jewish advocates for understanding antisemitism, a group committed to confronting antisemitism in all its forms, while upholding universal principles of justice and human rights. We are deeply shaken by the antisemitic Bondi attack and horrified that 15 people were murdered, and many others injured, while celebrating Chanukah. We are also resolute that our anguish at Jews is not used to suppress criticism of governments and regimes, both here and overseas, or misrepresent Jewish identity, while real antisemitic threats are overlooked. The Jewish community in Australia is multi-faceted and many of us uphold freedom of speech, democracy and human rights as the pillars of our Jewish identity. The atrocity at Bondi, the lives lost and the grief we are left with are painful reminders of the type of society that we reject. In our reaction, we must aspire to one that is grounded in our shared humanity and free of all forms of violence and extremism. And so we urge the government to avoid knee-jerk responses, including laws that will stifle legitimate political critique in the name of 'combatting antisemitism'. We urge the government to work to ensure that all marginalised people are protected from racism, including Jewish people from genuine antisemitism. This goal requires long-term, well thought out responses based on evidence and wide consultation. As I reflect on these words and on the unity shown in the chamber today, I'm reminded that moments like this must be more than symbolic. Our grief must be matched with care, our unity with responsibility and our condemnation of hate with action that is thoughtful, principled and inclusive. If we stand together in moments of tragedy, we must also commit to working together before tragedy strikes, to protect communities at risk, to confront real antisemitism and racism wherever it appears and to do so without eroding the democratic freedoms and human rights that keep all Australians safe. That is how we'll honour those who were killed, that is how we'll ensure their lives were not lost in vain and that is the Australia we owe to one another.
Education | Statements by Senators | Senate debates
Have you ever wondered why primary schools need to host Bunnings sausage sizzles? It is because of government failure. 'But it's okay; our kids are used to being tossed aside and monetised by the...
Have you ever wondered why primary schools need to host Bunnings sausage sizzles? It is because of government failure. 'But it's okay; our kids are used to being tossed aside and monetised by the time they reach primary school.' We have let the for-profit childcare sector turn our early learning into a money-making machine for domestic and foreign corporations. Then our kids roll up to underfunded primary schools while this government refuses to tax our coal and gas exports to pay for the things that we need. 'Sorry, teachers, there'll be no pay rise again this year. The government has already handed that money over to the likes of Woodside.' While teachers are doing $11.5 billion in unpaid work to keep schools functioning, most of them still pay more tax than big fossil fuel giants. It's outrageous. If our kids make it through school without a gambling addiction due to this government's inability to regulate gambling advertising while taking donations from Sportsbet and Tabcorp, they might make it to uni, where government starts paying attention because they can make money off uni students. 'Hey, $50,000 bachelor degrees are completely reasonable, kids. Education isn't free—anymore.' But our uni students are doing an important and patriotic job for this Labor government: they're giving the government more money from their student debt payments than the government collects from the petroleum resource rent tax, which is great, because students can afford it and we wouldn't want to burden those innovative startups like BHP, Chevron and Santos, would we? This government is selling out our kids for their big corporate buddies and political donors. Make no mistake about it. Our kids' early education should not be monetised. We shouldn't need to fundraise for our primary schools at our primary schools. Uni shouldn't be a debt sentence. We should ban corporate donations, make the big corporations and the billionaires pay their fair share, and make education free, accessible and high quality from early learning all the way through to university. (Time expired)
Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025, National Environmental Protection Agency Bill 2025, Environment Information Australia Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Customs Charges Imposition) Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Excise Charges Imposition) Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (General Charges Imposition) Bill 2025, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Restoration Charge Imposition) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | Senate debates
I rise in support of the Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025 and related bills. They are stronger than what Labor first put on the table, stronger because the Greens, backed by communities...
I rise in support of the Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025 and related bills. They are stronger than what Labor first put on the table, stronger because the Greens, backed by communities right across this country, who've been working for decades, joined and led this campaign. They're stronger because experts and advocates across the country refused to let them be written by big coal and gas, logging operations and lobbyists. But let's be absolutely clear: while we have secured important improvements for nature, this package of bills still fails. It fails to properly protect our climate. Labor began this process with a wish list for corporate environmental destruction. Their first draft would have taken us backwards. It would have created a fast track for coal and gas, handed corporations new loopholes and locked in a system where approval came first and environmental protection was an afterthought. It was package of bills written for big corporations, not for people and not for country. The Greens said no. We held firm, and the community held firm with us. Because of that, we have won significant gains for our environment. These bills now finally, after decades, end the special treatment for native forest logging. We've closed off the ability for coal and gas companies to use Labor's fast track pathways or to exploit the national interest loophole. These are real improvements. They take us forward and make these bills infinitely better than if Labor had done a deal with the climate deniers in the coalition. But let me be equally direct: these significant but small wins for nature are not the wins we need for our precious climate. Labor have refused point-blank to include a climate trigger. They've refused to allow the environment minister to consider the climate damage of new coal and gas projects—dirty, polluting coal and gas projects—in this country. They've refused, despite overwhelming public support and strong evidence that our environment laws must confront the climate crisis head-on. I come to this debate as a senator for Victoria, a state blessed with landscapes and species that deserve far more than incremental protection—the cool temperate forests of the Central Highlands, home to the precious Leadbeater's possum; Gippsland's forests, foothills, lakes and plains; the Victorian grassland earless dragon, rediscovered just recently on Wadawurrung country after being thought to be extinct; theburrunan dolphins of Port Phillip; and the superb fairywrens and bunjil, who often greet me on my return to Dja Dja Wurrung country, in Central Victoria, where I was born and raised. These are places and species worth fighting for. While these wonders of Victoria endure, they are under immense pressure. Their forests are still logged. Their habitats are still cleared. Their climate is still warming because Labor continues to approve new coal and gas. I have seen the consequences elsewhere in this country, too. Just last week I was in Karratha, or Murujuga, a place of staggering beauty, where red cliffs cascade across the landscape and the world's oldest rock art watches on over country. Yet, just beyond that sacred landscape, that oldest art gallery in the world—40,000- to 50,000-year-old rock art—gas plants and fertiliser factories rise like a dystopian skyline, eroding the rock art and directly impacting First Nations communities and their country. What is Labor doing in the face of this destruction? Greenlighting new fossil fuel projects, extending the North West Shelf for 45 years and protecting not country but the profits of Woodside, Santos and BHP. When I gave my first speech in this chamber, I said I didn't come here for incremental change. I came here to get big money out of politics, to stop the fossil fuel lobby writing our laws and to protect the places we love in Victoria but of course nationally and across this continent. That purpose continues to guide me today. The Greens have used every lever we have to make these laws less damaging and more protective. I'm really proud of that work, and I want to applaud my colleague Senator Hanson-Young and our Greens leader, Senator Larissa Waters, for the enormous work, alongside our community, that they have put into making these laws something that will go some way towards protecting our precious forests. Going into this, the fact that the Labor Party was willing to negotiate with either the climate deniers on the coalition side or the Greens really demonstrates why people are feeling like they don't know what this government stands for. I'm really glad and really proud that we have done this deal, because I think the alternative is unfathomable. The idea of new so-called environment laws coming into play that would fast-track new polluting fossil fuel projects through a 30-day window—we simply could not let that happen, and you cannot describe something as an 'environmental law' if it is speeding up fossil fuel projects. As I said, the Greens have used every lever we have to make these laws less damaging and more protective. But, until climate is at the heart of our environmental laws, until coal and gas are rapidly phased out and until fossil fuel corporations are removed from the decision-making table, our work is far from done. We acknowledge that. We acknowledge the giant shoulders that we stand on and the huge volunteer and member groups across this country who roll up their sleeves—week in, week out—to fight to protect nature and to fight to protect our beautiful and precious forests, our ecosystems and the species that are just careering towards extinctions at a devastating rate. The ENGOs, the environmental non-government organisations, are working across this country to protect our waterways, to protect our soil and to protect these important carbon sinks. To our First Nations elders and communities who continue to fight for country up against massive vested interests every single day, I want to thank you for your tireless advocacy and efforts and reassure you that we stand beside you every single step of the way. We know that this isn't done yet. We know that we've got a really long way to go. To everyone fighting to protect land, water, culture and climate from Murujuga to East Gippsland, thank you. We won't stop until our laws defend the planet, not the polluters destroying it.
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation | Matters of Urgency | Senate debates
Science isn't failing; the government is failing science. They ignore warnings from climate scientists, they sideline experts and now they're letting our national science agency be gutted....
Science isn't failing; the government is failing science. They ignore warnings from climate scientists, they sideline experts and now they're letting our national science agency be gutted. Australia has a scientific legacy to be proud of, from pioneering global agriculture to world-leading Antarctic research and medical breakthroughs like the cochlear implant. First Nations people have stewarded land, water and biodiversity with scientific knowledge stretching back 50,000 years. We are a nation built on science. CSIRO scientists carry that legacy today. They're on the front line of the biggest challenges of our time, from bushfire modelling to fighting antimicrobial resistance and breakthrough work on renewable energy. These are the people building our future, and what does Labor do? They hollow them out. This government should be buffering and celebrating Australian research, not bulldozing it—including by tackling one of the biggest structural barriers in the field: gender inequity in STEM leadership. If we want women to lead in STEM, we need to back them before they hit the glass ceiling. Programs like WILD for STEM show exactly what's possible when we invest early and properly: 100 per cent of participants stay in STEM. More than half secure new roles or promotions, and nearly a third land board positions within a year. Australia's scientists punch way above their weight, even under insecure funding, gender gaps and a global political climate increasingly allergic to the truth. Scientists are the people who can pull us out of climate disasters, pandemics and extinction crises. They get us out of the messes that politicians help to create. So here's the message: you do not slash science. You protect it, you invest in it and you back the people who make Australia smarter and safer.
Windsor Community Children's Centre, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Gas Industry | Adjournment | Senate debates
Over a year ago, I stood here and urged Labor to save Windsor Community Children's Centre. It's a beloved community-run early learning centre in my home city of Melbourne. After huge pressure...
Over a year ago, I stood here and urged Labor to save Windsor Community Children's Centre. It's a beloved community-run early learning centre in my home city of Melbourne. After huge pressure from the centre, from the Greens and from the community, Labor promised to save it. They made an election commitment to work with the local council to buy the site from Swinburne University. But, six months on, Windsor is again on the brink. Eighty families and 30 educators could be out by the end of December. Yes, Swinburne needs to accept the offer, but Labor made the promise and must keep it. Labor need to step up, keep their word and stop forcing anxious families back into a fight that they should never have needed to restart. Labor, we are calling on you to work with Swinburne to deliver the solution that you promised. Our community cannot afford another broken commitment. I rise to speak on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Violence against women and girls is not just a crisis; it is one of the most pervasive and devastating human rights violations in the world. Here, in Australia, the reality is devastating. One woman is killed every single week as a result of domestic and family violence. These aren't numbers; they are lives stolen, families shattered and communities grieving. They are a reminder of how far we still have to go. Violence against women doesn't stop at our borders. It is global, it is entrenched and it is escalating. Members of the Hazara community in Melbourne tell me that in Afghanistan millions of women are living under a regime determined to erase them—their education denied, movement restricted and dignity stripped. Every day without freedom is another day of violence. Today I met with members of the Sudanese community, who described the horrors unfolding in el-Fasher in the midst of a horrific humanitarian crisis and ongoing proxy war. We are hearing widespread reports of systematic sexual and gender based violence being perpetrated by the RSF. These are crimes against humanity committed in real time while the world looks away. The message is clear: the fight to eliminate violence against women isn't symbolic; it is urgent, it is global and it demands action, not words. The Australian government must do more. As a first step, we must fully fund violence prevention and frontline services; deliver culturally safe and community led support for women; and centre the rights, safety and self-determination of women and girls in every international development program that we fund. We owe it to women here, and we owe it to every girl growing up in a world that still treats her safety as optional. We must work towards a world where no woman anywhere is silenced, subjugated or erased and where freedom from violence is not an aspiration but a guarantee. Earlier this month, I spent time on beautiful Murujuga country in Karratha with Raelene Cooper and Aunty Esther. Murujuga is a place of staggering natural beauty. There are red cliff ledges cascading across the landscape with ancient stories etched into stone. It is a living gallery of the world's oldest rock art. Standing among engravings that have watched over this land for more than 40,000 years is indescribable. Every line carries culture, ceremony and identity—lores of a people who have cared for this country since time immemorial. Yet beyond that breathtaking landscape a very different story unfolds. The gas, fertiliser and chemical expansions of Woodside, Perdaman and Yara now loom over this sacred place. Their chimneys and flare stacks rise beyond the ancient art like a dystopian backdrop, a jarring contrast between the deep time of First Nations culture and the reckless greed of the fossil fuel industry. The truth is devastating. Gas cartels are destroying sacred country, their toxic emissions are eroding the rock art. Their industrial footprint scars the land and poisons waterways that have sustained life and culture for tens of thousands of years. Their climate pollution hits First Nations communities first and hardest. We learn from Save our Songlines, whose extraordinary determination makes one thing clear: we need to stand with them, match their strength and build a movement powerful enough to protect Murujuga's survival. I want to thank Raelene and Aunty Esther. Your strength is extraordinary and we stand with you in your fight against the fossil fuel cartels.
Minister for Climate Change and Energy | Matters of Public Importance | Senate debates
The irony of this motion is obvious to anyone watching from home. The coalition accused the energy minister of prioritising global summits, when clearly they are not doing enough. We failed our...
The irony of this motion is obvious to anyone watching from home. The coalition accused the energy minister of prioritising global summits, when clearly they are not doing enough. We failed our COP bid, and the Prime Minister didn't even bother turning up to the world's biggest climate meeting. Our chance to lead the region went up in smoke because of weak leadership and a climate rhetoric that collapses under scrutiny. I'm no fan of Labor, but I do find it ironic that the same people who are in the comments sections and on the coalition benches ridiculing domestic climate action because Australia is too small to make a difference are now angry that Australia is going to put effort into global climate action at the COP. 'Australian emissions are too small to save the planet,' they said last week while abandoning net zero. 'Focus on Australia,' they say this week, completely undermining their own clown show. Well, here is some good news for the climate deniers on the coalition benches: Labor doesn't really have a plan for climate action either. They take donations from the same fossil fuel industries, they take the same jobs after politics and they approve the same giant fossil fuel projects stretching out to 2070. Let's be clear. While coalition hypocrisy is loud, Labor's complicity is quiet, but it is just as destructive. One of their own members even admitted this week that our gas export regime is absurd. Here is a fact that every Australian deserves to hear: no gas export project has ever paid a cent of petroleum resource rent tax. The government collects more from HECS—off the backs of our students—than from the PRRT. Now that is a failure of national policy! Despite all of the scare campaigns, 99.7 per cent of Australians do not work in the oil and gas industry, yet our national energy policy continues to be written for them. Meanwhile, tying domestic supply to volatile global gas markets keeps pushing up prices for Australian households, all while Australia's gas is shipped offshore for next to no return, doing nothing for our energy security and leaving behind environmental destruction. No matter how many talking points the fossil fuel lobby feeds into this chamber, the facts do not change. Renewables are cheaper. Renewables are cleaner. Renewables are reliable. Australians deserve a government and an energy minister who treat that reality as a mandate, not as an inconvenience.
Across Australia too many people, especially young people and older women, are being pushed into housing stress, couch surfing and homelessness. Housing is a human right. Your age, your income or...
Across Australia too many people, especially young people and older women, are being pushed into housing stress, couch surfing and homelessness. Housing is a human right. Your age, your income or your postcode should not determine whether or not you get a secure roof over your head. But the housing crisis didn't just happen; it is the result of political choices. For decades governments—Labor and Liberal—have designed a system that delivers billions to big banks and property developers whilst locking out a whole generation from the opportunity for secure housing. We saw this clearly in Victoria with Labor's plan to bulldoze 44 public housing towers and hand over public land to private developers. The human cost of these choices is simply devastating. Every year, nearly 40,000 children and young people in Australia have nowhere to live. At the same time, women aged over 55 are the fastest-growing cohort of people experiencing homelessness in Australia. In one of the richest countries in the world, this is nothing short of shameful. The Greens fought hard in the last parliament and secured $3 billion in extra funding for public and community housing and an additional $500 million for urgent social housing upgrades. This was significant, but it's simply not enough. Young people are falling through the cracks, especially those leaving out-of-home care. At 18, many are effectively shown the door and left to fend for themselves. It's no wonder that so many of these young people end up homeless. Single older women are among the most marginalised when it comes to safe, affordable and suitable housing. Lifelong disadvantages, such as the gender pay gap, caring responsibilities and lower paid work, leave them vulnerable. Research shows older women, especially private renters, are disproportionately trapped in housing that is both unaffordable and poor quality. We must do better. That's why the Home Time campaign is so important. Since launching in 2024, more than 150 services and agencies have joined forces to end youth homelessness and tackle the barriers that stop young people, especially those leaving care, from finding stable housing. They're calling for dedicated, wraparound housing and support so young people can build their lives on solid ground. The Home Stretch initiative, which pushes to extend formal care to 21, is another crucial reform. At the other end of life, Housing for the Aged Action Group provides critical support to older people through activism, services and advocacy. I've met with representatives from this group, and their message is clear: young people and older women deserve stability, not a cliff edge. It is heartbreaking and infuriating to watch younger Australians and older Australians being pushed into homelessness when we have the resources to keep them safe. To Home Time, Home Stretch, Housing for the Aged Action Group and all of those fighting for the right to housing: we thank you. Your work is vital, and the Greens will keep fighting alongside you.
Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No. 2) Bill 2025; In Committee | Bills | Senate debates
The committee is considering the Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No. 2) Bill 2025 as amended and amendment 2 on sheet 3481 moved by Senator Thorpe. The question...
The committee is considering the Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No. 2) Bill 2025 as amended and amendment 2 on sheet 3481 moved by Senator Thorpe. The question is that schedule 5 stand as printed.
Economics References Committee; Reference | Committees | Senate debates
There are no further speakers. The question is that the motion put by Senator Roberts be agreed to. A division is required. We will defer that division to tomorrow. Debate adjourned.
Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee; Reference | Committees | Senate debates
The question is that the motion moved by Senator Shoebridge be agreed to. Is a division required? It being after 6.30 pm, we will defer that to tomorrow.
Energy | Matters of Public Importance | Senate debates
The Australian Energy Council's latest report says its members want a more honest and transparent narrative about the cost of the transition. Well, let's be honest and transparent. The Energy...
The Australian Energy Council's latest report says its members want a more honest and transparent narrative about the cost of the transition. Well, let's be honest and transparent. The Energy Council doesn't work for consumers; it works for the companies who profit when the transition slows down. And of course these companies are concerned about the speed of the transition, because every year we delay is another year that they can squeeze profits out of coal and gas. But slowing down the transition doesn't make power cheaper. It destroys our economy. It trashes our planet and locks households into expensive gas in a world that is rapidly moving on. Renewable energy is the future. Get with the program or get out of the way. Let me bust some myths. Myth—renewables are expensive. Fact—every credible body, such as the CSIRO, AEMO and the Climate Council, says that wind and solar are now the cheapest form of new electricity generation in Australia by a mile. Wind and solar cost a fraction of new coal and gas. The Clean Energy Council's latest analysis shows that renewables are the cheapest path to lower bills, full stop. Myth—dependence on gas keeps energy prices stable. Fact—gas is a major driver of high bills. When global prices jump, Australian households feel it. Unlike gas, renewables don't link our domestic market to volatile international prices. Since Australia began exporting LNG, domestic gas prices have tripled, and power prices have doubled. Myth—the grid can't handle renewables. Fact—the grid can't handle ageing coal plants falling over. Renewables are predictable. The failures of ageing coal and gas are not. AEMO has been crystal clear that the fastest way to a reliable grid is more wind, more solar and more storage. While we're busting some myths, let's talk about the coalition. Their abandonment of net zero is frankly embarrassing, and it is a betrayal of everyday Australians, who want cheaper bills and a clean energy future. They are trying to outdo Labor in defending fossil fuel corporations and locking us into decades of higher energy costs. Farmers don't want that. Households don't want that. Industry doesn't want that. Australians do not want that. You want transparency and truth. Well, here it is. Renewables are the cheapest, cleanest and most reliable path forward. The only thing standing in the way of that clean energy transition is a political class that is just too timid, too afraid to embrace that renewable energy transition, and an industry hoping like hell that we don't.