Cassy O’Connor MP | Greens Leader
The Federal Election result has devastated many young Tasmanians. The message it sent to young people is that the majority of Australian adult voters aren’t concerned enough about their future to vote for a safe climate.
It’s up to State and Territory Governments, responsible companies and individuals to send a message of hope to young people. Climate action is critical, which is why this week in State Parliament we will be moving for Tasmania to declare a climate emergency.
The declaration of a climate emergency has happened in the UK, Ireland, at home in the ACT and 528 local governments around the world have understood and accepted the science.
Declaring a climate emergency becomes the architecture for delivering stronger climate action at all levels of government. Critically, it will also send a message to young Tasmanians that the State Parliament cares about their future and is determined to be part of the solution.
It will also send a message to Canberra that the Tasmanian Parliament takes the climate emergency extremely seriously.
This is an urgent issue, we don’t have any time to waste. We cannot afford to let our young people feel this depth of despair. We have to take action and it starts in our Parliament this week.