#Greens #LarissaWaters: “we’ve watched an alarming escalation in the #MiddleEast following #DonaldTrump and #BenjaminNetanyahu's #strikes on #Iran, and the retaliations that have followed.

#Iranians deserve safety and freedom from fear - whether from their own government or other countries.

The desire for that freedom is real. So is the devastation that follows #illegalwars and #illegalbombing campaigns.

We don’t control what happens overseas, but we are responsible for what is done in our name.

#AnthonyAlbanese was the first world leader to support these strikes, and the government has refused to rule out the use of Australian military resources in this conflict.

I am proud that our Greens movement is prepared to stand for #peace in a moment like this.

But it tells us something about how narrow and concentrated political power has become in this country. In a healthy democracy, there must be room for challenge, for pause and for dissent - especially when the stakes are this high.

That means ensuring the Greens are strong enough to hold to our values when pressure builds, and strong enough to stop Australia being dragged into another #illegalUSwar like #Iraq or pulled further to the right in alignment with Trump-style politics.

With the new donation laws about to take effect, that narrowing is set to become even more deeply embedded in our system.

That is why we are working now to expand our movement and ensure there are enough voices, resources and community power to withstand this growing pressure.” #auspol #TrumpRegime #uspol

#Greens say #extremismbill a #threat to #freespeech, claiming #Labor followed #Coalition ‘down the rabbit hole’.

The Greens, who will pass the government’s #firearmslaw in the #Senate, have stood up to criticise the government’s extremism bill, and attacked Labor for going down the “rabbit hole” with the Liberal party.

Leader #LarissaWaters again says the bill, which will create a new hate groups listing and increase grounds to cancel or deny visas under the migration character test, was #rushed.

She says the bill could lead to the #criminalisation of #peacefulprotesters.

“It is an atrocity that we have seen the government go down the rabbit hole following the Liberals to further crackdown on people’s ability to speak out peacefully against human rights abuses anywhere in the world.”

Deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi calls the last minute deal with the Coalition a “#sham process”. #auspol

#Labor has struck a deal with the #Greens to overhaul federal #environmentalprotectionlaws.

#Albanese became actively involved in the final stages of negotiations, speaking directly with his Greens counterpart, #LarissaWaters, in a bid to resolve a weeks-long standoff.

My favourite bit:

“The Labor-Greens deal will sideline Sussan Ley’s Coalition, which refused to yield on their demands.”

GET USED TO BEING SIDELINED #COALition! #auspol

#LarissaWaters: “I think #Labor wanted to avoid the scrutiny.

Of the fact that they, within 2 weeks of re-winning government, approved the biggest #gas plant in the southern hemisphere that would have more emissions than all of our #coal-fired power stations put together over 10 years, an absolute #carbonbomb.

The fact that they’ve ticked off on more than 30 other coal and gas projects since they took government, the fact that they’re currently trying to rewrite our environmental laws to fast-track coal and gas approval.

And the fact that there’s an #algalbloom that’s driven by a marine heat wave that’s caused by #climatechange on the beaches of #Adelaide.”

#COP31 #auspol

#Labor’s #QuietSummer comes at a cost.

#auspol #TheGreens #LarissaWaters

https://greens.org.au/magazine/labors-quiet-summer-comes-resounding-cost

#LarissaWaters, asked a question about a specific part in the #nationalclimateriskassessment.

By 2030, some 597,000 people could be at direct risk of #coastalhazards. She wants to know exactly where those locations are.

#JudithLandsberg, from the #AustralianClimateService, which created the report, couldn’t immediately provide the information.

But, when pushed, Landsberg said the highest-risk communities are southern #Qld & up it’s coast &, areas in #WA, #SA & the south-east of #Vic #auspol

#LarissaWaters, #Greens’ leader, said:

The revelations about #Australia’s #future under #climatechange detailed in this report are chilling.

The #climatecrisis is a risk to our safety, to nature, & to our economy & productivity. This report must be a wake-up call for #Labor ahead of their 2035 climate target decision.

If Labor fails to set a science-based #climatetarget then it’s crystal clear: they’ve utterly prioritised coal & gas profits at the expense of community safety & nature. #auspol

#Greens leader #LarissaWaters, says the #environment minister, #MurrayWatt, should rescind his provisional approval of #Woodside’s #NorthWestShelf extension to give the nearby ancient #Murujuga #rockart a better chance of gaining world heritage status.

“We want to see this global treasure listed as #worldheritage. What we don’t want is to see it destroyed by acidic emissions from Woodside.” #auspol