Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

O'NEILL () (): I'm going to put on the record a speech by Deena Clemson, from my duty electorate of Lyne, which I'm reading as part of the Raise Our Voice Australia campaign. Congratulations, Deena.

Imagine this: gardens on the rooftops of every building, a fresh breeze blowing against your face while you move through the shadows cast by overhanging trees and a feeling of connection with yourself and with the planet—a clean, green society.

My name is Deena Clemson, I'm 14 years old and I live in the Lyne electorate, on the land of the Warrimay people. A sustainable lifestyle, living in harmony with both yourself and the planet, being able to understand and care for the magnificent potential that this planet holds—this is the future I'm fighting for. We have a colossal impact on the planet, which has detrimental repercussions on everyone. One change that Australia should make to become a better place for future generations is simply understanding and implementing a sustainable lifestyle—small changes made in everyone's lives, like composting, buying locally, recycling and changing to LED light bulbs. Vincent van Gogh said, 'Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.' If we all make small changes, we can make a huge difference.

But how does Australia get there? The Australian government needs to provide an education on how to properly recycle and live in harmony with the planet. They need to lead by example. So, if you take one thing away from this today, I ask you to remember this: let's learn—learn to implement, learn to share and learn to preserve.