Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

We oppose this motion because it is based on a false statement about the role of the ACT in this action. It's terrific that young people want to get active on the issues that matter to them. Young people want to see the government take serious action on climate change. We share their strong feelings. We don't want to see students missing out on schoolwork. There are plenty of opportunities for young people to campaign for climate action outside of school time, including school holidays and weekends, and we would be the first to support them. Labor set targets to improve Australian schoolchildren's performance, and these targets were scrapped by the government—of which Senator Bernardi was a member at the time—as being red tape. Australian schoolkids should get the best education in the world, and Labor's investments in schools will make this happen.

Question negatived.