David Shoebridge (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ten years ago, almost to the day, I had the privilege of taking a group of young Greens on a journey into New South Wales native forests for three days of walking amongst giants, learning from forest defenders and understanding what's at stake. Many of those young people are still in the movement today, and they know what today means.

We now have a pathway to end native forest logging. While it was negotiated in this place and voted through only because we have 10 Greens senators, the conditions were achieved by decades of work by activists and ratbags. Greens champions like Bob Brown, Janet Rice and Sue Higginson have fought relentlessly in parliament. Groups like Circa, the North East Forest Alliance, National Parks Association, Manyana Matters and others have stood watch over our irreplaceable ecosystems. I particularly want to honour friends and comrades Harriett Swift, Joslyn van der Moolen, Carol and Joseph and so many others I've had the privilege of walking alongside in these forests, spotting greater gliders and bearing witness to the devastation of industrial logging. Nature, our forests and this beautiful planet are irreplaceable. It's that simple.

An environment bill without real action on climate change just doesn't cut it. The Australian Labor Party, like the coalition, is owned by the coal and gas lobby and willing to sacrifice the future of this planet for its donors. Real climate action won't come from Labor. It will happen despite them. Ultimately, power doesn't flow from parliaments owned by fossil fuel lobbyists. It comes from millions of ordinary people demanding more. We hear these voices and we hear the calls for action. That's why the Greens negotiated with Labor in this fossil fuelled chamber to fight for nature, and it's also why we're ultimately here—to replace them. We will always put survival of this planet over corporate profits.