We have finished the end of the last session of the year in the NSW Parliament and the Senate is about to wrap up – and what a shameful display by the Liberal/National Baird and Turnbull Governments it has been!
In the NSW Parliament they have rammed through changes that will undermine ICAC, the body that holds corrupt politicians and their mates to account. They have weakened laws that protect our environment and biodiversity, to allow increased land clearing. They have put our crown lands at risk of sell-off and overdevelopment. And they have introduced cruel shark nets in our oceans.
While the laws that passed were bad – as Greens MPs we successfully amended the laws to protect commons across NSW, and made sure that the views of so many that the Baird Liberal/National Government ignores were heard.
Above: Justin, Jenny, Tamara, David, Jan, Jamie, Mehreen and Jeremy. Below: Lee
As your representatives we are committed to bringing the issues we all care about to the parliament. That’s why we moved motions in NSW to commit to a principle of keeping kids out of jail, to defend multiculturalism, to acknowledge the Transgender Day of Remembrance, to support the right to strike, and to extend the timetable for implementation of a new HSC English Syllabus to ease pressure on teachers and students.
We introduced legislation to ban new coal mines in NSW and to end the use of single-use plastic bags in retail outlets, and we took the Greens’ framework for real action on climate change – the Climate Change Bill 2016 - to the Legislative Assembly. We also sought to strengthen whistleblower laws and ban donations from mining companies.
In the Senate, we have campaigned for donations reform, led an inquiry into toxic contamination at communities across Australia, fought against proposed nuclear
waste dumps and achieved historic Senate voting reforms. Where the
Liberal/National and Labor parties have failed to, we have stood up for
important issues – ending offshore detention and creating safer pathways
for refugees, installing a national ICAC, ending live animal
exports and beginning the critical transition away from fossil fuels. We know the way we achieve change is not in our parliaments alone, but through community action, working together.
Right now in Sydney, on the south end of King Street, Newtown, there is a 24/7 community camp set up to protect the award-winning Sydney Park from the destruction of the WestConnex.
In a show of solidarity and support for the nonviolent direct action being taken by community members opposed to this disaster of a project, all Greens MPs moved motions condemning the devastating impacts that this $16.8 billion polluting tollroad will have on all of us. We know that WestConnex will not solve Sydney’s congestion problem or deliver much needed transport solutions for Western Sydney. We know it will be a financial blackhole and contribute to dangerous climate change.
You can watch our collective actions against WestConnex in the Parliament by clicking the image below.
Or watch it via YouTube here
Despite the attempts by the NSW Government to destroy so much, and the compromised opposition from Labor (we still can’t believe the disgusting role they played in pressuring Baird to backflip on the greyhounds ban!), we will not give up.
With your support, we will continue to do all that we can to protect our environment and our communities – for current and future generations and the future of our planet.
Cheers,
Tamara, Mehreen, Justin, Jeremy, Jenny, Jan, Jamie, David, Lee and all the wonderful folks that work in our offices
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