Ged Kearney (Cooper, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Skills) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I rise to speak about one of the wonderful schools in my electorate, Thornbury Primary School. Thornbury is leading the way in nurturing the next generation of young leaders, particularly in the face of a climate emergency. The students at Thornbury Primary School have collated a petition which draws attention to the dire need for Australia to act on climate change. It was signed by 295 of the students, who are aged between five and 12 years, with one overarching ask: a future and a climate that is safe.

The climate emergency will vastly impact on the lives of the next generation and generations to come. Unfortunately, on this issue the government is reckless. As the kids know, the latest IPCC report places our Earth on a disastrous trajectory towards irreversible temperature rise, drought and natural disasters, placing the economy and Australian jobs at risk. Yet, if this government had a real plan, Australia could be leading the way to mitigating this climate emergency. With certainty instead of chaos, we could be encouraging clean energy production, sustainable industries and investment in jobs and the growing renewable economy.

To the students from the Thornbury Primary School who are asking the government to act now on climate change, I promise I will continue to stand up for your future and continue to fight for real action on climate change.