Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd like to take a moment to reflect on the scenes that we saw coming out of the United States and across the world over the weekend—particularly in Washington DC, where nearly a million people gathered together, led by young people, to demand that their government take action to address the scourge and terror of gun violence. I am sure that I am not the only one who was brought to tears by the speeches of Emma Gonzalez and Naomi Wadler, who spoke so eloquently for their nation, their generation and their community.

These are just the latest examples of a growing global youth movement, of young people coming together and saying: 'Enough is enough. From housing to climate change to employment and education, we demand that our government safeguard our future and listen when we speak.' Here in Australia we saw firsthand the energy and commitment within this movement during the marriage equality debate, where young people led the charge to ensure that Australia voted for fairness, equality and justice.

These movements, led and driven by dedicated, dynamic and proudly passionate young people, put to shame all those who still lazily parrot the view that this generation does not care about the world in which we live or decisions made in places such as this. We, who will live in the world that is created day by day in dry, dull and deeply unrepresentative chambers such as this, are no longer willing to stand by while democracy is being hijacked by big business and they are content to rob us of our future.

We, the young people of Australia, in solidarity with our generation across the globe, will be silent no longer. We demand to be heard. We demand the realisation of those rights which are ours, not by the virtue of some obscure piece of legislation but by our very existence as human beings: to meaningful work, to a home, to an education, to a voice in our parliament and to a safe planet on which to live. While this chamber so often recoils from the challenges of our time in favour of the comforting embrace of corporate backers, the young people of Australia are unafraid to confront the reality that politics is broken and to push back when the broken politics attempts to break us.

The green movement is founded on the belief that when people come together change is possible. As a Green and as a young person I come before the chamber tonight in profound solidarity with and admiration of this rising global youth movement and pledge myself to its service. As long as there are Greens within this place and for as long as I'm given the honour to count myself among them, the young people of this nation will always have an advocate in this place—because we matter, our issues matter, our futures matter and our voices must be heard. I thank the chamber for its time.