I rise to speak to this matter of utmost urgency. The climate collapse our world is experiencing is a threat like no other. The Australian government's inaction in the face of this is nothing short of criminal. A little more than a week into spring, unprecedented fires are raging in New South Wales and Queensland, destroying our rainforests, habitats and homes. Inaction on this climate crisis has put one million of the world's species at risk of extinction. In Australia, the Murray-Darling is close to the brink of collapse.

LINK TO GROUP PHOTO: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1szK9Ma5GUNF6yigYw-fzNi2bs3iYJpUk/view

Australian Greens Leader Senator Richard Di Natale has welcomed the official start of the election campaign, declaring that the party has never been better equipped to offer a progressive alternative to the old parties. 
 
“We’re ready. On May 18, we’ll give the Australian people a genuine alternative to the old parties, one that offers a positive plan for Australia that will create a better future for all of us,” Sen. Di Natale said.
 

Just a few weeks ago, I was out at Menindee to see firsthand the Murray-Darling Basin in ecosystem collapse. The Darling River, the Barka, is dying. The Murray-Darling Basin Plan isn't working and the government tells us: 'Everything is fine. Nothing to see here.' I saw stagnant rivers, cracked, dry earth and locals red hot with anger at the federal government and the New South Wales Liberal-National government for their role in the slow death of the Murray-Darling Basin.

Right now we are facing a manmade disaster of global scale, our greatest threat in thousands of years: climate change. If w e don' t take action, the collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon.

The world's people have spoken. Their message is clear: time is running out. They want you, the decision-makers, to act now.

'Get your hands off it, Prime Minister.' That was the banner that Greenpeace tied to the flagpoles in front of this very building this week, calling on Australia's latest Prime Minister to break his addiction to coal. We remember well Scott Morrison, the then Treasurer, entering the House of Representatives jovially waving around a lump of coal. But, Prime Minister, this is no joke. Our planet is cooking, and we have a Prime Minister who is not willing to take any concrete action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.