Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Here in the Australian Senate today, I'd like to give a quick but really important shout-out to a very special person—in fact, a bloody champion. Her name is Dr Colette Harmsen. Colette is the first Tasmanian woman to be imprisoned under new protest laws—the first imprisonment for environmental protests in Tasmania in 10 years. Colette is a vet and she has dedicated her life to tirelessly protecting Tasmania's forests and the wonderful creatures within those forests. For that dedication, she has found herself in prison. I want you to know, Colette, that you've got a lot of people supporting you. I know you're in prison for three months, but you are on the right side of history. To use Colette's own words: 'The real criminals are sitting in parliament subsidising the destruction of our environment.'

It's not just forest protesters who are being locked up around this country under new draconian antiprotest laws; it's also climate protesters. We've seen it recently in your home state of Western Australia, Acting Deputy President Sterle, and we are seeing it around the country. If we don't do our jobs as politicians, what can we expect? People are going to take matters into their own hands. It's not as if anyone wants to be arrested and go to jail for protecting forests or for taking climate action. They're so desperate that they feel like they have no other option. I want senators to reflect on that in here today.

I also want to give a shout-out to Dr Bob Brown, who is in the 2S1 committee room in Parliament House at the moment doing a forum on native forest logging and why we should end it. Tonight, a film called The Giants is screening in the parliamentary theatre, which I ask all senators to go along to if you have time. It's a very inspirational film about his life of activism and about the birth of the Greens movement, and you'll walk away with a spring in your step.