Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to give voice to young Australians. As part of the Youth Voice in Parliament Week, run by Raise Our Voice Australia, I'm going to read a speech by Chloe Ames, a 14-year-old constituent from South Australia. Chloe wrote this speech to tell policymakers here in Canberra what her vision for Australia in 20 years time is. She writes:

In 20 years, I would like to see a clean environment around me. When I walk on the street, I want it to be clean of rubbish, no gum, nothing. When I order takeaway, I don't want to be eating out of plastic. I want to be able to travel around and see so many different animals. I want to see the oceans clean and all the coral come back in colours. I want to see the colourful wildlife.

Climate change is a massive problem right now and our world is slowly dying because of it. Humans are the only reason this is all happening. We are burning fossil fuels. Deforestation is taking away the wildlife's habitats. We are farming livestock, and we use single-use plastic for pretty much everything. The world has lost half its wildlife in the past 40 years. We are the problem, and we need to fix our mistakes before it is too late.

Climate change can be stopped if everyone spoke up about what is happening to the world. By powering our homes with renewable energy. By reducing water waste, stopping food waste, and donating cans you are not going to consume to people in need. Getting rid of plastic straws is not enough. We need to eliminate plastic cups, plastic bags, and all single-use plastics. We need to consider going vegetarian or vegan, live sustainably and grow our own food in our backyards.

Thank you, Chloe, for sharing your vision of a safer, cleaner and kinder world.