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

Three years ago, Labor was elected to government on the promise of progressive change, of leaving no-one behind and holding no-one back. But, three years later, emissions are higher, the cost of living is soaring and housing is less affordable than ever. Labor have failed to deliver on their promise, particularly to the people of Victoria.

In the electorate of Cooper, renters are being gouged. Some have been hit with rent hikes of $300 a month. Meanwhile, public housing in Northcote is being demolished to serve developers, not communities. In Wills, bulk-billing clinics are disappearing and GP visits now cost $89, on average. Public schools are underfunded by $30 million a year. In Coburg, rents have jumped 41 per cent. To the west of Melbourne, in the electorate of Fraser, toxic truck pollution is endangering people's health, yet Labor representatives are doing nothing. In my home electorate of Macnamara, people are struggling to keep up with their ever-increasing home insurance premiums, due to climate risks. Meanwhile, Labor continue to hand millions of taxpayer dollars to coal and gas corporations.

But it's not just Labor failing Victorians. The coalition continues to prioritise corporations over the needs of the people. In Casey, where the risk of bushfires grows every single year, their Liberal representative continues to vote in favour of coal and gas.

It's clear we cannot keep voting for the same two parties and expecting a different result. With the election around the corner, Victoria, here is your chance for change. Vote Greens in Wills for Samantha Ratnam, in Macnamara for Sonya Semmens, in Cooper for Tara Burnett, in Fraser for Huong Truong and in Casey for Merran Blair. If you want your voice heard in parliament, you want progressive women to represent your electorate and you want Labor to be held accountable and the coalition to be kept out of government, vote Greens at the next election. Nothing changes if nothing changes.

In solidarity with Jewish Australians, I condemn antisemitism in the most absolute terms. The Greens are utterly appalled by rising violence towards the Jewish community. There is no place for racism in our society. Attacks on the Jewish community in recent months—on schools, childcare centres and places of worship—are a disturbing escalation to the activity of neo-Nazi and far-right groups in this country. The Adass Israel Synagogue in my home electorate of Macnamara was firebombed in December, destroying sacred Torah scrolls and injuring community members. I condemn this act of cowardice and share my sincere condolences with the Adass congregation as they continue to rebuild and recover.

The increasing antisemitic violence here in Australia has not occurred in a vacuum. All of us witnessed Elon Musk perform a Nazi salute at the Trump inauguration. Extreme-right populists and their divisive rhetoric have emboldened hate groups the world over. As a result, we are witnessing a rise in hate and violence against our multicultural communities. Australians deserve to feel safe, and they deserve to be safe. Antisemitism, Islamophobia and all types of racism and vilification must be condemned and opposed in unequivocal terms.

We are calling on the government to do more. Australians need a coordinated national strategy to combat far-right extremism and address all forms of racial and religious discrimination. The Greens fought to establish a National Anti-Racism Framework. Now the government must ensure that this body and the Race Discrimination Commissioner are fully resourced. Racism is not a partisan issue. It is a threat to the integrity of our nation, and we must all work together to address it.