Senate debates

Wednesday, 5 December 2018

Matters of Urgency

Mining Industry

6:01 pm

Photo of Jordon Steele-JohnJordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

'I believe that we will win. I believe that we will win. I believe that we will win.' These were the words so beautifully sung out in the halls of parliament today, as young people from across this nation sat and exercised their right to protest in our very parliament to call attention to the reality that, when it comes to Adani, the choice is clear: it is between this megamine and the future of our generation. I was proud. I was proud to sit with them in their action. I was proud to sing with them, to cheer with them, to hear their stories—they, the young people of this nation, who must be, who have every right to be, a focus of the work of this place. They came today, as they came on the weekend, to demand from us, their parliament, their leaders, their representatives, action to ensure that their future is made safe for them, that an environment is passed to them which is liveable and clean. They came to us, demanding that we ensure that their future is not blighted by dirty rivers and nor is it the site of the deathbed of the reef. They came to us demanding that we put their future, their dreams, their hopes and their aspirations above the coal barons and the gas merchants and the desires that they peddle in this place.

So few in here were brave enough to meet with them. So few in here were wise enough to heed their call. But I am proud to sit here as a member of a movement which not only met with them but celebrated with them, which held their hands and joined in union with their demand for action on climate change. I could look them in the eye and say that we, as a political organisation, are willing to put their future, the safety of the next generation, ahead of winning the next election cycle or taking the next fossil fuel donation. I was proud to say that I am a member of an organisation within which is Senator Waters, whose campaign is to end Adani, to get its filthy carcass off the body of Australia and drive out the political donations which have greased it into existence. I was proud to say that our organisation has such members among it. I was proud to say that we welcome young people, that we feel our existence to be one which is dedicated to the celebration, the empowerment, of young people—something I know firsthand as the youngest member of the Senate.

I sit here tonight brimming with hope, driven by the conviction that there is nothing in this world more powerful, nothing that can move this place more effectively than the passion, the energy and the commitment of the young people of Australia. I dedicate myself tonight to the service of my generation, to doing every single thing in my power to see that our movement for climate justice succeeds and that the future is one in which young people are able to thrive.

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