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

This could be one of the last speeches I deliver before being up for re-election in my home state of Victoria. I grew up in regional Victoria, and I've seen firsthand how policies affect regional lives. I have seen community coming together in drought, extreme weather and economic downturn. One of my biggest frustrations about politics in this country is that it's from places where the Greens are needed most that some of the most conservative climate criminal MPs sitting in this place come.

I've sat in the Senate for less than a year, and over that time I've seen a Labor government tick off new fossil fuel projects—three coal expansions in one day, which I thought was a pretty significant effort—I've seen a PM purchase a luxury coastal property while state Labor bulldozes public housing developments in my state of Victoria, and I've seen the Labor Party laugh at the idea of a rent cap when many families across this country are one rental payment away from sleeping in their car.

What scares me most, though, is the prospect of a Dutton government. Let's be clear. If Dutton sneaks into government, it won't be because of any nation-building agenda; it'll be because of a campaign designed to attack those most vulnerable in our society, such as refugees, the queer community and casual workers. Forget about that right to disconnect that the Greens fought so strongly for if Peter Dutton gets elected. Things are bad, but we know they would be worse under Peter Dutton. That's why we are running a huge campaign all across Victoria and the country to put the Greens in the balance of power and to keep Dutton's hatred out of government.

Hollie Hughes (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hodgins-May, could you just refer to people in the other place by their proper title, please.

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

To keep Mr Dutton's hatred out of government. In seats including Macnamara, Cooper, Wills, Fraser and Casey in Victoria, we are running huge-scale campaigns where people have the chance to elect a Greens representative.

This election is closer than you think. For those watching on from home, a handful of votes could decide whether the Liberals win power or whether the Greens hold the balance of power to push for the change that we need. When the Greens are in the balance of power, we use it to deliver results that actually help people. Together, we can hold the next government accountable and ensure they tackle the climate crisis, make housing affordable and get dental care into Medicare.

But we are up against it. While the major parties have their hands out to Coles and Woolies, taking millions in dodgy corporate donations, including from the fossil fuel industry and the gambling sector, we're supercharging a people powered campaign right across Victoria and this country, talking to voters one conversation at a time. The major parties, though, rely on our complacency. They're trying to drown out any hope that exists for change. They know they're on the way out, and you can feel it on the ground. People are sick of the two-party system.

When people ask why voting Greens makes a difference, I like to point to what we have already achieved. Without the Greens, we wouldn't have marriage equality. We wouldn't have the Clean Energy Finance Corporation or kids' dental in Medicare. We led the push for royal commissions into banking and the disability sector, and we've fought for climate action at every level of government. In the balance of power, we'll deliver even more, like ending coal and gas, freezing rent increases and making mental health care accessible to everyone who needs it. How will we do this? We will do it by taxing the billionaires and the corporates, who are paying less tax than teachers and nurses in this country—what a great shame! This election is our chance to change the system and to fight for a future where no-one is left behind and the needs of people and the planet come first. Every door knocked on, every conversation and every vote for the Greens brings us all closer to that vision.

Before the election in 2022, Labor dangled the carrot of environmental reform. They promised Australia that with a Labor government we would see stronger nature laws—laws that would work for our wildlife, our forests and the places we love. They promised a national environmental watchdog to hold corporations to account for their environmental degradation. The Greens were ready and willing to work with Labor. We were ready to achieve these critical nature reforms and to ensure that our climate and forests were protected. Yet here we are, nearly three years later, and, in the final weeks of parliament before the federal election, Prime Minister Albanese has recklessly abandoned these promises and scrubbed nature laws from the Senate agenda. Why? Because the fossil fuel industry vetoed them. This is an insult to every single Australian who trusted Labor to deliver change. It is a betrayal of our environment, traditional owners and future generations. What has become increasingly clear is that at the next election, if we want change and if we want to protect our environment and fight for people, we need to vote for it.