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

[by video link] Donald Trump lost, and on 20 January, whether he leaves by his own volition or is escorted from the building by Secret Service agents as a trespasser, his shadow will darken the White House no more. This moment that the world is sharing in is profound. Many people across the United States and across the world are attempting to make sense of what has happened and what comes next. It is clear from what we have seen that this end of a despotic era, when the United States came so close to embracing fascism, was brought about by young people, by people of colour—in Nevada and Arizona, and in Atlanta and Detroit and so many cities in between—rising up, working together, calling for change. It was excellently summed up, I believe, by representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who said in the lead-up to the election that the fight was one of allowing American democracy to live another day.

As it has been given the opportunity to live another day, so has hope for action on the climate crisis—global action. President Biden has committed clearly to decarbonising the electricity system of the United States by 2035. He has acknowledged that climate change is an existential threat to humanity, offering a global opportunity to reset the climate clock conversation and take action that young people are demanding. What we have seen as a reaction from Australian so-called leaders is shameful. The Morrison government has signalled that it is not going to take further action, and Labor is currently torn apart by division about whether to shift at all. In my state of WA, the McGowan Labor government just voted down a Greens climate act that would have begun the work. This is not good enough. Young people do not accept it; the Greens do not accept it. It is clear, now more than ever, that there is an opportunity for climate action globally, and we in the Greens intend to work with the community to seize that opportunity. (Time expired)