David Shoebridge (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Around the world, countries are moving to legalise recreational cannabis. Recreational cannabis is already legal in Canada, Uruguay, Malta, 23 states of the United States and Thailand. Here at home, almost half of adult Australians have tried cannabis and are asking governments why on earth they are still locking people up for choosing a brownie over a beer.

Recently, my office received a wave of support for legalising cannabis. Almost 9,000 people from across the country completed a detailed online survey about our plan to legalise cannabis, and 98 per cent of respondents supported the plan. Before you stop and say, 'Well, they're obviously all stoners,' recreational cannabis users made up only 57 per cent of respondents. Recreational users are an important voice in this debate, and, increasingly, they're being backed in by the broader public. The fact is that people across the country really want this change—and wanting to be able to chill out with some gummies is not the only reason. We heard from people calling for an end to the injustice of 80,000 people each year being dragged through the courts for cannabis possession. When it comes to cannabis, it's policing and the war on drugs that are destroying lives, not the plant.

We heard from people who want clear labelling that reliably tells them the strength of their cannabis and where and how it was grown. They want mandatory standards that will take mouldy and pesticide treated cannabis out of the market and keep people far safer than leaving regulation up to bikie gangs and organised crime. We heard from medicinal cannabis users who already have a prescription but are still struggling with access and affordability and just want to grow a few plants at home. Our plan to legalise cannabis will give adults the right to grow up to six plants at home, giving these patients much-needed relief. Contrary to the stereotype that so many in this place cling to, the people fighting for legalised cannabis are generous and engaged and have a sophisticated understanding of the potential of this market and how we can legislate it to keep people safe. The support for this commonsense reform is only growing. The question for this chamber is: will it lead, or will it be dragged into the future?

Speaking of unholy alliances between parties, here's one: the lockstep between the coalition and Labor in state and federal parliaments on crushing protest. They stand alongside coal and gas giants, logging companies and all those who are invested in continuing to destroy country and climate. Why are the old parties so invested in cracking down on students, forest defenders, unions and those fighting for the rights of First Nations peoples? It's particularly concerning to see Labor, in a state like South Australia, ram through protest laws warm off the photocopier in a late-night sitting. SA Unions said those anti-protest laws are a 'massive overreach and a mess of unconsidered consequences', and they're bloody right.

Imagine if governments put this power and passion into dealing with the actual challenges that communities are facing. Rising rents and grocery costs never keep parliaments up until 4 am, and that's because those paying those costs don't own the major parties like coal and gas do. The Malinauskas government promised the gas corporations the state was 'at their disposal', and, boy, did they deliver. In case you think South Australia is out on a limb here, though, let's remember that New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania also have the unholy Labor and coalition duopoly working to smash protesters on behalf of their corporate mates and donors.

So much of what is good in this country came as a result of protest and civil action, not from places like this but from the streets—from land rights to equal marriage; from the eight-hour day to voting rights. Protesters blockaded the site to stop the construction of the Franklin dam, and thank God they did, because we still have the Franklin River. In 1966, the Wave Hill walk-off saw 200 Gurindji stockmen, domestic workers and their families take action. Thousands took to the streets across the country and marched to support them, and those actions were powerful precursors to the 1976 land rights act.

Standing up and speaking truth to power is fundamentally important for delivering social and environmental justice. The climate crisis and the cost-of-living crisis are here. Let's be clear: no matter what these laws say, those fighting for the future will still take to the streets. It's time for the old parties to start listening to those truth-tellers instead of jailing them.