Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I'd like to do a couple of important shout-outs tonight—firstly, to a remarkable young Indonesian-Australian woman who I was lucky enough to meet in Launceston two months ago: Melati Wijsen. As a schoolgirl she set up an NGO in Indonesia called Bye Bye Plastic Bags. She went to the governor of Bali and said, 'We've got to get rid of plastic bags.' Anyone who's been to Bali and Indonesia knows just what a scourge plastic bags are, especially in the ocean. The governor of Bali said to Melati, 'Get me a million signatures, and I'll ban plastic bags.' She went ahead and got a million signatures. The ban was put in place. Of course, it was challenged by big business and big plastic companies. But last week that challenge was unsuccessful, and the plastic bag ban has passed into law.

Melati hasn't stopped with a plastic bag ban in Bali. She's now unfolding this business model in 41 other countries around the world. She finished school about two months ago, and she's currently on the international circuit trying to do great things. So, all those Australians like me who are doing Plastic Free July—you know how hard it is, even after just one day, to go without some kind of single-use plastic in your life—should spare a thought for the work that Melati's done. I just wanted to note something I felt very strongly after meeting her. Two of my real heroes—Greta Thunberg being another one—are both young women less than half my age. It's quite exceptional that we've got such young role models doing great things and bringing about change around the world.

I'd also like to do a quick shout-out to the tens of thousands of Australians who protested during the election campaign to get some action on climate and action on extinction in this country—the School Strike 4 Climate, the Extinction Rebellion and all those who turned up who actually care about future generations in this country and want to see action on climate.

I want to do a special shout-out tonight to my tribe: the surfing community in Australia. We have seen unprecedented protests all around the country, with paddle-outs in most towns, of surfers, a long way from the Great Australian Bight, standing up for clean and healthy oceans, standing up for action on climate and saying that a future of fossil fuels is a future that needs to be phased out.

Senator Canavan interjecting—