2023-08-30
By Penny Allman-Payne
Senator for Queensland
A year ago I was still pinching myself after what we all achieved in Queensland at the last election. That initial excitement quickly gave way to a sober appreciation of the work we still have ahead of us, and the urgency of our mission.
Greens voters and supporters are a little thin on the ground here in Central Queensland. But while it's true that "Greensland" might not yet extend to the Gladstone region, the Greens nevertheless have real answers to the problems that people who live in notionally “conservative” communities are facing.
From securing a low-cost renewable energy future, to ensuring high-quality and accessible public services for all – the Greens may be relatively unknown in these parts, but our message is universal.
Thankfully, our electorate office in Gladstone finally opened in September, and we’re already making a real impact in the community. Regional Queensland faces a lot of challenges – as do other regional areas in Australia – and it’s been poorly served by its elected representatives for far too long. We’re determined to show the people of the Gladstone region and beyond what genuine, community-minded political representation looks like.
Education (Primary and Secondary)
With the Commonwealth and states and territories set to strike a new national school funding deal by mid next year we’ve been ramping up our Save Our Public Schools campaign. The campaign has been ruffling the right feathers and firing up new supporters, and we’re in a good position to keep the pressure on Labor to deliver 100% minimum funding to public schools by the start of the next funding agreement in January 2025.
The Senate inquiry into school refusal that I initiated also tabled its report. While it dances around the funding issue, the consensus report is a really good step forward for addressing a growing problem that more and more families are having to deal with. My team and I are continuing to work with the “school can’t” community about how to keep pushing for change.
We’re also increasingly focused on ensuring that our schools are inclusive for all students. Every child, regardless of disability, mental health, location, economic status and background, should have access to a public school that caters for their needs, and I look forward to working with Senator Steele-John on this issue in the months and years to come.
Industry, Transition and Regional Development
In April we had a huge win in our negotiations with Labor on the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund. Thanks to our amendments the fund will no longer be able to be used to invest in coal and gas projects or log native forests, and investments made by the fund will also have to align with the legislated climate targets and any future updated commitment by Australia under the Paris Agreement.
We’ve also been heartened by the government’s plan to establish a Net Zero Authority similar to the National Energy Transition Authority my bill would have created. While the specific details are unclear at this stage we’ll continue to push for an independent body that empowers communities to have a say in their energy futures and ensures that no worker is left behind.
Other work
I’ve participated in a number of Senate committees throughout the year, including the recent inquiry into Australia’s preparedness to host Commonwealth, Olympic and Paralympic Games. Working with our Greens MPs in Brisbane, who are actively campaigning against the $2.7 billion Gabba upgrade, we got the head of the AOC to admit that the Gabba rebuild was entirely unnecessary for Brisbane 2032. That’s $2.7 billion on a project that the community doesn’t want that could be spent on much-needed public housing or investment in hospitals.
We’ve also been working with community advocates in the Redlands who are also pushing back on the construction of an Olympic whitewater centre at Birkdale. Like the Gabba rebuild, this project is entirely unnecessary.
The Redlands is also home to the proposed Toondah Harbour development at Cleveland. For over a decade the Greens and I have stood with the community against the construction of over 3600 residential and commercial units and a 200 berth marina on a RAMSAR wetland, and we will continue to do so.
And we’ve built a close relationship with communities in the Torres Strait who, represented by the Torres Strait 8 and dozens of emerging young activists, are fighting to save their islands from being inundated by rising seas caused by global heating. We support their calls for urgent adaptation measures and an end to coal and gas.
Thanks to everyone in the party and our supporters for your steadfast commitment to our goals and your continued efforts in the face of what can sometimes feel like insurmountable opposition.
We’re at a really critical time in our movement’s history, with global heating’s terrible effects taking a toll on communities all over the world, a growing inequality crisis, and a Labor government with neither the spine nor the ambition to meaningfully tackle either.
We have the chance to make major electoral gains and wield real power at the local and state level in Queensland, while federally our political courage could see us continue to win new supporters.
Green politics have never been more important than they are at this moment. I’m glad to be in this fight with you.
– Penny