There's a point that I've found myself having to make countless times before. It's one I'm happy to make as many times as necessary. Protecting our precious environment does not require inhumane treatment and cruelty to sentient animals, whether they're native or introduced species. We can protect our environment and our precious biodiversity and be humane to all species.

Let's start by getting the language right. There's no need for labelling introduced species as invasive in a way that blames animals for the man-made problems raised by this motion. Language matters. Animals are not villains to be shot or obstacles to be poisoned to death. The answer to colonialism's legacy is not more violence and more death. For decades, successive governments have culled and killed introduced species, and yet native species are in a worse position today. How many animals need to be killed until we accept the fact that it is simply not effective? Kill a fox or a cat, and another takes the territory. More are bred. We cannot shoot our way out of this problem. Humane alternatives exist to manage introduced populations, such as immunocontraceptives and, for some species, rehoming.

What this motion asks of us is to ignore the man-made impacts, pass the blame to voiceless animals and absolve the Albanese government of any responsibility. As an environmental engineer, I know that decades of scientific research has found habitat destruction from native forest logging and from land clearing to be the primary drivers of the decline of koalas, greater gliders and the swift parrot, to name just a few species who are endangered, and there are many more who could become extinct if native forest logging and indiscriminate land clearing aren't halted. But the Labor government doesn't really want to go there at all. Then there's the impact of the climate crisis. For every fossil fuel project that state and federal Labor governments approve, they sentence millions more native wildlife to be burnt to death in bushfires, and they sentence our oceans and their inhabitants to be cooked in a boiling pot.

I suggest that, if someone wants to improve animal welfare and save our native species, they start by putting their guns and their chemicals down. As the Greens spokesperson for animal welfare, I know there's a lot the government can do. We need the Labor Party to step up and do their part to end native forest logging that destroys habitat, to stop land clearing that kills native species, to stop new coal, oil and gas, and to stop handing out licences to kill millions of native animals around the country. Invest more in non-lethal population control methods and research because we know that populations of introduced species need to be controlled. Plan ahead and support vets to tackle bird flu and give animal welfare charities the tax support they need to do their work. Do that, and you'll go a long way to protecting our environments and animals.