Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) | Hansard source

by leave—I am about to give a condolence speech and I note that the whips have agreed to give me a few additional minutes. Last week we learned the very sad news that Sophie Trevitt, a former Greens staffer, award-winning human rights lawyer who led the charge to raise the age of criminal responsibility and a proud warrior for social justice and climate action, had lost her short battle with brain cancer. Sophie was just 32. What Sophie managed to pack into those 32 years is a lesson for all of us in how to make every moment count. I can't see through my tears; I'm sorry. I share this tribute to her and her work with the permission of her beloved partner, Tom, and the encouragement of her legions of friends, some of whom are in the chamber with us tonight.

In the heartfelt tributes that have flowed since her death, one theme emerges. Sophie made you a better person. Sophie worked as an adviser to former Greens leaders Richard Di Natale and Christine Milne. Christine described Sophie as funny, generous, kind, a dogged and resourceful climate activist and communicator and a beautiful person.

Sophie staffed me at the climate COP 21 meeting in Paris in 2015, which Christine also attended. Few people would accuse Christine Milne of being anything less than 100 per cent committed to climate action yet she recalls that Sophie chided us for taking an afternoon to explore Paris, because you cannot pause in an existential crisis—every moment matters. In my time working alongside her, Sophie's work ethic and her passion were in equal measure.

Sophie took that determination and heart into her community legal roles, including working at the National Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency representing First Nations people fighting against a flawed justice system. She saw firsthand the unparalleled cruelty inflicted on First Nations children imprisoned as young as 10, separated from their families and supports, traumatised at a formative time in their lives. Sophie became a dedicated advocate to raise the age, working as executive officer of Change the Record and with Australian Lawyers for Human Rights. Her work to raise the age of criminal responsibility was awarded the 2020 ACT Youth Coalition award and Liberty Victoria's 2023 Voltaire award for human rights. She played down these awards. She said she had not done anything and was only interested in how she could use the awards to boost the campaign. But the nominations submitted in support of Sophie to win those awards are a testament to her standing in the legal profession advocacy organisations and the broader community. I wish I had time to read them all out but here are a few.

Rocket Bretherton said, 'I am a proud Noongar women who spent a lot of time caught up in the justice system. Sophie is one of the most fierce and powerful advocates I have worked with in the justice reform movement. She is someone who backs up her words with action. She has always worked in solidarity with First Nations people and she is deeply respected. She is a voice for freedom, justice and a vision of a better future for this country.'

Her colleagues at Canberra Community Law described Sophie as 'a rare gem' and 'an irrepressible voice for change'. Mr Robert Deeves said, 'Sophie is a courageous champion for the unspoken for. I believe her record as a lawyer advocating on Indigenous issues in Alice Springs as the national voice for raising the minimum age for incarceration and as a sleeves-rolled-up political campaigner for social justice issues make her an outstanding candidate. Sophie lives with her heart on her sleeve at work and at home where her generosity and kindness for others is unbounded.' And that reference to her personal generosity outside of the workplace has been affirmed by so many of her legions of friends who have shared stories on how she was often the first to meet a new baby or to bring a meal to new parents or friends need. She was genuinely a wonderful person.

Back in the workplace, her sharp mind and empathy meant that Sophie could cut to the heart of things. She was a brilliant writer and she used it to tell stories, to change people's minds and to draw focus on what needed to be done. Even as her aggressive cancer progressed, she told the Guardian that her biggest fear was for children in jail. She held up a light to the insanity of our current laws when she wrote, 'At some point society decided that it was not only okay but beneficial to lock up children as young as 10 behind bars. I have spent a long time trying to imagine that moment, imagine closing and opening your eyes and thinking "Okay, this is it. This is the way we will restore harmony on our streets. We will put children in cages and adults behind bars."' Sophie was a truth teller and she demanded answers and action. When we do eventually raise the age of criminal responsibility right across this country, it will be in no small part because of Sophie and her work.

Sophie wrote a poem five years ago that catalogues the experiences of young women. Its clarity and poignance breaks my heart. She starts off the poem:

I am eight.

I am eight, and I am an avocado in a flock of magpies and I want to be a magpie so badly that it makes my fingers curl.

I want to know what it feels like to dig my claws into the ground and to stretch my wings and be told that one day I will reach the corners of the sky.

The poem goes on to detail youthful misadventures, about learning how to be in the world, seeing women crowded out and people's voices silenced. She concludes:

I am 27.

I am 27 and (hopefully) only a third of the way through living and the air is thick with the sounds of women.

The clouds hang heavy with songs of stolen opportunities and broken bones, and the fog is dense with the stories of men who tried to make them disappear.

… … …

I breathe in the stories of women who punched holes through avocado skin and listen to the softly building anthems of women reclaiming their sky.

It's beyond a tragedy that Sophie did not have another 27 years or maybe more.

To her friends; her family; her partner, Tom, the love of her life, on behalf of all of our Greens team, we were so lucky to know her. My deepest condolences. I hope that the collective love for Sophie comforts you and that her death reminds us all to stop mucking around and take action. Get kids out of prisons. Get refugees out of detention. Stop approving new coal and gas. Love boldly, be kind and have fun. No matter what doubts she may have had, Sophie Trevitt was always a magpie. She was glorious. She dedicated her life to showing up, standing up, holding firm and fighting for the things that matter. We owe it to her all to now stretch our wings and reclaim the sky.

Senate adjourned at 20:21