Page 392 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 22 March 2022
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That is what the Greens want to do, so that 16- and 17-year-olds will be bombarded with political paraphernalia from all the parties on their social media. There is enough bullying and hostility on social media as it is. What we would see is political parties of all spectrums, from the far-left extremist Extinction Rebellion and the Greens to the far right, bombarding those children, who are struggling to get through life with heightened levels of anxiety as it is. The potential for bullying, as we have heard, is extraordinary.
Now, why do they want to do this? It is very clear. Previously, the Greens did not support compulsory voting for young people. That did not get through so they completely back flipped on their policy to say, “No; it should now be compulsory.” Why?—because they think it is to their political advantage. They think that they have a message: their doomsday view of the world. They can use fear to scare a whole bunch of people and say, “Vote for us or you are going to die of climate change.” We have heard Ms Clay say in the Assembly that that is a good thing. She saw kids out there with signs saying, “You are going to die of climate change,” and “You will die of old age. I will die of climate change.” She thinks that that is a positive thing. That is a message that kids do not need to be pushed at them all the time by Extinction Rebellion and that end of the Greens political spectrum.
Of course, they will promise free things for them, because everything is free in this Greens utopia. It is all free: “Don’t worry, kids, we will give you everything for free,” potentially even the decriminalised drugs, which Mr Pettersson is trying to get through! We will see if that comes through.
It is really a Machiavellian attempt to exploit young people. That is what this is about. It is grubby. It is trying to politicise children for the Greens’ own grubby political ends to try and to get more votes in their column. I say to the Greens: stay away from our kids; let kids be kids. Let them go to school. Let them grow up free of the political messaging that you are trying to bombard kids with out there. Stop trying to politicise our children and stop threatening our children with criminal penalties, because this bill says, “Vote, or we will impose criminal penalties.” What sort of people are the Greens that they think that, just to get more votes in their column, they should behave this way, and use this sort of threat to children to impose criminal penalties on them? What sort of people are you?
MS CLAY (Ginninderra) (11.33): I am not sure if I want to call a point of order or simply respond to something that Mr Hanson stated that was not correct. I believe I heard Mr Hanson say that I had personally said, “Vote for the Greens or you will die.” Was that something that Mr Hanson has said?
MR ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Mr Pettersson): Ms Clay, I—
MS CLAY: I will simply make a speech rather than a point of order. It is really important for democracy that the people in this room elevate the voices of the people in Canberra. I have been to a lot of climate rallies, and I have read out some of the signs written by the people who attended those rallies because I think it is important that we listen to the messages from those people who are really worried and scared.
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