Steph Hodgins-May (Victoria, Australian Greens) | Hansard source

I move:

That the following matter be referred to the Environment and Communications References Committee for inquiry and report by 14 October 2026:

Fossil fuel industry engagement with children and young people, with particular reference to:

(a) the scale, nature and extent of fossil fuel industry engagement with children and young people, including through sponsorships, partnerships, educational resources, curriculum, programs, scholarships, mentoring initiatives and other activities undertaken directly or through industry associations, foundations and third-party organisations;

(b) the extent to which such activities influence children's and young people's attitudes, perceptions, beliefs and understanding of climate change, energy, environmental issues and the fossil fuel industry itself;

(c) the adequacy of existing transparency, disclosure, governance and oversight arrangements relating to fossil fuel industry engagement with children and young people;

(d) options to strengthen transparency, disclosure, accountability and protections for children and young people; and

(e) any other related matters.

This issue should concern every parent in the country. When a child walks into a classroom, they expect to receive an education. Their parents expect their children to receive an education, not brainwashing by multinational corporations with one objective: to make profit for as long as they possibly can. They want to brainwash our kids and buy social licence so they can pollute and plunder for as long as they possibly can and so they can make profits for their shareholders for as long as they possibly can, with no regard for these very children who are going to inhabit a future filled with extreme weather events and filled with uncertainty around crops, food security and climate insecurity.

It is devastating to know that this is going on for children as young as six months old. They're being dressed up in Santos vests or Woodside vests. They're being brainwashed about the climate crisis and being told that everyone has a responsibility. But of course they're not being told that it is those carbon majors who are pumping out pollution and destroying their futures. They're learning through vegemite on bread about the oil industry. They're plucking raisins out of cake to learn about mining and the benefits of mining. It is simply unacceptable that this is going on under the watch of state and federal education ministers. It is simply unacceptable.