Steph Hodgins-May (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

The US election was scarier than previous ones. Why? Because both major parties here in Australia have handcuffed our country's sovereignty to a bunch of white elephant nuclear submarines to the tune of $368 billion. We have to accept the result of the American election, but we have a responsibility in this place to protect our democracy from oligarchy, billionaires and climate deniers.

Right now, a disinformation machine with close ties to the Liberal Party is throwing millions of dollars at a campaign to fight the Greens. Advance is using the same divisive language and campaign strategies as the Trump campaign. This Liberal Party aligned group wants to pit groups within our community against one another and keep us distracted from prospective prime minister Dutton's real agenda.

Why is Advance attacking the Greens? Because we threaten the profits of the big fossil fuel corporations who are their corporate mates and donors. Why would a fossil fuel backed lobby group attack the Labor Party? They've approved 32 new coal and gas projects. The fossil fuel sector isn't going to attack the Labor Party; they just tap on the minister's shoulder and—oops!—there go the nature positive laws. We know things would be worse under Dutton, but emissions have risen under Labor, and that will be the unforgivable legacy of this government.

The Greens in this place have a job, and the people at the ballot box have a job too. Our job is to push one of these sad, old, dying major parties to cancel AUKUS. Trump is a danger to democracy, and we can't keep contracting out our foreign policy to the US. The job of those at the ballot box is to keep Temu Trump out of office and to vote for protecting the environment, for real cost-of-living relief, for taxing the corporations to fund full dental into Medicare and for the things that genuinely improve people's lives. Bring on the election!