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

I return to this chamber filled with hope and with energy. Out west, in my state of Western Australia, despite the beige clashing of the major parties, funded as they were by their corporate donors, something incredible occurred. Thousands of people, motivated by a desire to see urgent action, to get corporations and their influence out of our democracy and to get proper action on climate change, came together and joined our Green movement in one of the biggest campaigns that has been run in the over-30-year history of the Greens in Western Australia. Together, we knocked on over 60,000 doors. We made 25,000 phone calls, talking to people in communities about the issues that mattered to them. And we raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, from individuals, from small donations—proving that you don't need to take big corporate donations to run big community campaigns that win.

Through this process, we empowered people. People entered the democratic debate in ways that they had never done before—disabled people and young people in particular. I want to give a shout-out to the Accessible Australia group, the over 1,200 members of that incredible online community, who so passionately engaged in the campaign for the royal commission into disability abuse and who marshalled so wonderfully during the federal election campaign all across the country.

As part of that, I was so proud to be one of 16 candidates across WA for lower house seats and five extraordinary candidates for the Senate who represented our Greens movement at the ballot box and did so much to take our message into communities from the Kimberley to Esperance, and everywhere in between. And I want to make sure that the Hansard record reflects their names in glorious black ink. They were Caroline Perks, our candidate for Perth; Jesse Hutchinson, our candidate for Fremantle; Liberty Cramer, our candidate for Swan; Jody Freeman, our candidate for Brand; Simone Collins, our candidate for Burt; Nelson Blake Gilmour, our wonderful candidate for O'Connor; Nerilee Boshammer, for Forrest; Yawuru man Johani Mamid, for the seat of Durack; Jodie Moffat, for the seat of Canning; Lee-Anne Miles, for the seat of Hasluck; Daniel Vujcich, for the seat of Moore; Eugene Marshall, for the seat of Pearce; Judith Cullity, for the seat of Stirling; Mark Cooper, for Cowan; Martin Spencer, for Tangney; and Cameron Pidgeon, for Curtin. For the Senate, they were Bhuwan Khadka, alongside Heather Lonsdale, Jordan Cahill, Jacqueline van Grootel and, of course, Giz Watson.

I also want to thank my incredible team, without whom I would have been able to achieve nothing whatsoever in this place. I say thank you to Trish Cowcher, my incredible chief of staff, who always makes sure that I am where I am meant to be when I am meant to be there; to Elliot Sawers for his incredible puppy energy during the campaign and everywhere in between; to Aimee Smith for her sound and resolute policy advice; to Gabi Nind for her enthusiasm and fresh insight; to Connor Slight for some of the most incredible digital material that has been seen in this space; to Andrea Pizzie for always being in the legislative foxhole alongside me; and to Tim Oliver, who is quite simply one of the best media guys in this place. It would also be incredibly remiss of me if I did not thank my Senate colleague in WA, Rachel Siewert, and her incredible team. There is not a day that goes by, nor was there a day during the campaign, that I did not thank whatever exists up there for their existence and their support.

While I'm at it, I must give my heartfelt thanks to WA state director Sophie Greer; and lead organiser Lily Newbury-Freeman, Georgia Blackburn and Eva Bates, who led the team at GWA. I have never worked, in all my life—nor will I ever again—with such an incredible team of women, who brought it and absolutely smashed it.

I say to those folks out in the community right now, who may well have watched the proceedings of today and may well be feeling frustrated with the state of politics in Australia: take heart and take hope. Together, we are strong. Together, there is hope. Our Greens movement will be a powerful source of opposition to this government. We will take the fight to get corporate influence out of our democracy and get real action on climate change right up to the Morrison government. And, together, we will win.

Senate adjourned at 19:05