Stephen Bates (Brisbane, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If the last decade of politics has shown us anything, it's that the two-party system is going to hold Australia back the longer we let it exist. We see system change and structural reform being passed aside for quick bandaid fixes, and Labor-LNP unity tickets on reforms to cement their power. The fear of rocking the boat too much has well and truly ingrained itself in this place. The word I hear from my community about this incumbent Labor government is 'disappointing'. After almost a decade of LNP government, people expected big, positive and progressive changes, and what we got instead was business as usual. But when you look across at the opposition, the LNP have blatantly learned nothing from the 2022 federal election. The LNP have dug their heels in and, instead of accepting climate change is a real thing, have denied the benefits of renewable energy and presented policies that exist solely to extend the life or fossil fuels as long as possible.

The last decade and this term of parliament has made it abundantly clear that if we want real action on climate change and environmental protection, and if we want an economy and society that puts people before profit, then the political system is going to have to change. The two-party system has shown itself to be fundamentally incapable of delivering the positive change people want to see. The only way we are getting a progressive system change in Australian is with a bigger crossbench, more Greens and a minority government.