2025-10-21
By Larissa Waters
Leader of the Australian Greens & Senator for Queensland
It has been a big couple of months since the election, for me personally as the new parliamentary Leader of the Australian Greens, as well as for our federal team and party across states and territories.
With this election confirming our national vote is solid at 12% we were able to maintain all of our Senators at the recent election, and even with the departure of Senator Cox, we will maintain the sole balance of power in the Senate, which gives us, and the country, more opportunity than ever before to tackle the big issues the country is facing.
With the changes in our federal party room, a number of portfolios have changed hands as well, and I am deeply honoured to be taking over as the party’s spokesperson for Climate & Energy and First Nations Justice, as well as keeping the Women’s portfolio which is very dear to me.
MORE CLIMATE CAPITULATION FROM LABOR
The climate wars were supposed to be over, but the major parties just can’t stop approving new coal and gas projects.
I know I was not the only one disappointed when the newly-elected Labor government kicked off its second term with the approval of Woodside’s disastrous North West Shelf expansion.
As the Climate portfolio-holder, it was deeply disappointing to see the first decision made by the re-elected Labor government was to greenlight the extension of Woodside’s North West Shelf Gas Project.
The climate and environment crisis is the defining issue of our generation. With the Coalition in the electoral weeds, now is the time to be ambitious, stop approving more coal and gas and genuinely protect our environment.
The Greens have made it clear, we want to see meaningful climate action in this term of government.
first nations justice must be a priority this parliament
I recently had the great privilege of travelling to Gulkula in remote northeast Arnhem Land to join the 25th Garma Festival.
It was a moment that called for bold commitments on truth telling, treaties, action on systemic racism and incarceration rates, and serious funding and action to actually Close the Gap.
Unfortunately the announcements by the PM at Garma lacked reference to free prior and informed consent for projects, and did not meet the invitation from First Nations leaders for deeper commitments.
It’s clear from the events of recent weeks that First Nations justice must be an urgent priority of the 48th parliament, and the Greens are ready to work with Labor to get outcomes.
There have already been 13 Aboriginal deaths in custody this year. Recommendations from the 34 year old Deaths in Custody report remain unfulfilled, and opportunities to investigate structural racism in the justice system have been abandoned, but this parliament presents a real opportunity to take action.
First Nations children are 29 times as likely as non-indigenous young people to be in detention. No child should be locked up in a jail, and raising the age of criminal responsibility remains a long-held Greens position
It’s also a key measure of Closing the Gap. If the government is serious about closing the gap in health, education and incarceration rates, it’s time to actually do what First Nations people have been asking of us for decades and properly resource community focused solutions led by First Nations people.
ENDING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN & CHILDREN REMAINS DRASTICALLY UNDERFUNDED
The Albanese Government’s funding continues to fall short of the $1 billion per year that the women’s safety sector needs to ensure everyone who needs help, can get it.
Current commonwealth funding is only three quarters of what the sector says it needs to meet existing demand, condemning one in four women to being turned away back to violence.
Stopping violence against women will take systemic action to tackle root causes and transform harmful social norms, but it also requires adequate funding of the organisations that do the hard work on the frontlines of this epidemic.
Around 95% of all victims of violence, irrespective of their gender, experience violence from a male perpetrator (ABS 2015 Personal Safety Survey data).
Engaging all men and boys is imperative to transforming our culture of gendered violence.
Prevention must be prioritised to stop women being killed by men’s violence and to dismantle our persistent rape culture.
I am proud that the Greens took a comprehensive $15 billion policy package to the election to address the national crisis of family, domestic and sexual violence, but we need Labor come to the table with the funding required to tackle this national crisis.
thank you
In this parliament, Labor cannot pass any legislation without either working with the Greens or the Liberals. We know that the Coalition will drag us backwards. People deserve real reform and we fear Labor won’t do it without us pushing them.
People need and deserve more than just tinkering. This is our shared responsibility in this parliament to deliver real reform that will help people in their daily lives.
What we saw in the most recent election campaign is that there’s a role for everyone, whether that’s flipping sausages at a community BBQ or doorknocking or letterboxing or boosting the reach of our social media content by engaging in the comments.
None of us can do what we do without the support of our members and volunteers, so thank you always for your blood, sweat and tears on the campaign trail and beyond.
I am so proud of the movement that we are building, I’m proud that we bring the community together and breathe hope and life into politics and I know that will continue.
Together we can and will keep up the fight for people and the planet.
- Larissa