Lidia Thorpe (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

We cannot separate climate justice from First Nations justice. Before I begin, I want to thank my colleague Senator Waters for bringing this important public urgency matter to this place and for her staunch calls for climate action this morning.

Last year, we watched this country burn as we experienced one of the worst bushfire seasons in our recorded history. The sixth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change tells us that First Nations knowledge is a vital tool in the struggle for climate justice. First Nations people have cared for and protected our lands and waters, including our totems, for tens of thousands of years, but, due to disregard for traditional forms of land management, we are seeing a breakdown of traditional forms of land preservation. Recent breakdowns of ecological systems and harms to biodiversity have been linked to a disregard for traditional forms of land management and their displacement by imported and harmful practices, like when the colonisers came over on the boats and destroyed everything they touched.

The IPCC report acknowledges the contributions of First Nations people and First Nations scientists in helping record historical as well as current observations of a changing climate. This First Nations science enables climate scientists to paint a whole picture and understand holistically what we're doing to the planet. We know that First Nations land management reduces the risk of catastrophic fire damage. We know that our land protectors out there play a crucial role in reducing the risk of wildfires and mitigating shifts in the fire season. We need to lead with what we know is most effective. We must put First Nations knowledge at the forefront of our climate action and policy to safeguard our country and the people that call this place home.

Now is the time to build a better normal out of this crisis. Together we can change politics in this country. We can kick the Liberals out and put the Greens in the balance of power. Greens in the balance of power means that there are enough Greens in parliament that the government needs to consult with to make laws. That way we can make laws that are good for people and our country, because we know that 'Lib' and 'Lab' are pretty much the same these days, particularly when it comes to climate. With the balance of power, the Greens will push the next government to go harder and faster on climate change. The last time the Greens and Labor were in shared power, we passed laws to bring down pollution.

Coal and gas are causing the greatest damage to people, and we know that the Liberals and the Labor Party continue to take those dirty donations from the oil and gas companies. That's why they won't talk about their target, and that's why they're all talk and no action. We can continue to enjoy our lives in harmony, with plenty of energy from clean sources like sun and wind, or we can become a climate denier, a climate criminal, or the climate terrorists that the previous senator spoke about— (Time expired)