2025-08-27
Truth and resilience
By Larissa Waters, Leader of the Australian Greens
Across this country, truth and resilience are alive — in culture, in community, and in the natural world. They show us what is at stake, and why governments must have the courage to act.
These past weeks have reminded me of both the fragility and the resilience that surrounds us, and of the wisdom, culture and knowledge that show us the way forward.
The most valuable part of this work is stepping outside parliament and listening to people where they live, work and care for one another.
At the Garma Festival, Yolŋu women shared song, ceremony and truth that spoke to the deep resilience of their people. On the Great Barrier Reef, scientists showed both the fragile state of coral and its extraordinary capacity to recover.
These experiences underscored the same lesson: resilience is powerful, but it is not infinite. To protect culture, communities and nature, governments must act with courage.
Garma’s Yolŋu elders invited us to the Milkarri Dawn Crying Ceremony, where women sang and cried for their ancestors, speaking of the responsibility carried by grandmothers, mothers, and sisters.
Their voices carried wisdom and strength that governments have ignored for far too long.
Justice for First Nations people means truth-telling, treaties and self-determination, not just announcements. The upcoming introduction of a statewide Treaty Bill in Victoria is a historic step.
Treaty is truth put into action, bringing decision-making to a local level, so that First Nations people can use their knowledge to care for land, keep culture strong, and inform how services are delivered in Victoria.
I was privileged to meet the First People’s Assembly this month with Victorian Greens Leader Ellen Sandell. Nationally, the Greens will continue to push for the Federal Government to follow suit.
With the Greens in balance of power, Labor has a clear pathway to act on truth and justice, and we remain ready to work with them to deliver both.
A long way from Victoria, the Reef holds another truth. At Heron Island, scientists showed us areas where coral had died, reduced to rubble beds, and others where it was regrowing with remarkable resilience.
The Reef supports countless species and 60,000 jobs, yet it has now endured six mass bleaching events in just nine years. Recovery is possible, but only if we stop burning coal and gas, address overfishing, and reduce agricultural runoff. The Reef can heal, but it cannot survive endless stress.
The threat of the climate crisis is clearer than ever in our oceans, and even more warnings remain locked in a government drawer.
For more than nine months, Labor has hidden the National Climate Risk Assessment, described by insiders as “dire,” “diabolical”, and “extremely confronting.” It is understood to contain maps showing suburbs up to five kilometres from the coast underwater, alongside warnings about deadly heat, collapsing food production and significant risks to industry.
The Greens forced a Senate deadline for its release by 25 August, but Labor let that deadline pass. In response, we have established a Senate inquiry to expose the truth before climate targets are set.
Why does this matter now? Because in the coming weeks, the government will announce Australia’s 2035 climate targets. If those targets do not phase out coal and gas or end native forest logging, they will not keep us safe. The science is clear: to keep global warming under 2 degrees, Australia must commit to net zero by 2035. Anything less is a plan for higher costs of living and worsening fires, floods and droughts.
From Arnhem Land to the Reef, and inside our own parliament, the message is the same.
Truth matters. Resilience is possible. And the Greens will continue to fight to ensure both endure, so that communities, culture, and nature can thrive.