Labor backbencher Marisa Paterson hits out at Greens minister Emma Davidson

Ms Davidson came under fire after referring to politicians are "sociopathic".

Transcript

00:00 A couple of weeks ago we had a group of high school students visit the Assembly and ask

00:06 some questions. My favourite one was, 'Why is the government spending so much money on

00:11 defence?' That is a very important question to ask a political representative and I am

00:15 glad that they asked. I had the pleasure of being visited by Six News founder Leo Puglisi

00:20 earlier this year, another teenager who Labor and the Liberals do not think should get a

00:25 vote. He asked me more insightful questions in a 10-minute interview than the Canberra

00:30 Liberals have in this whole term. As much as I want to spend my allotted minutes listing

00:36 teenagers with better politics than members of both major parties, this is actually a

00:41 really serious issue. I would like to thank Make It 16 for their advocacy on behalf of

00:46 Gen Z. Please know that the Greens care. We are listening and we have got you six.

00:52 We support lowering the voting age across the country, but the Federal Labor Minister

00:57 for Youth, when asked about lowering the voting age to 16, said, 'It's not a priority for us',

01:03 before going on to justify the expansion of fossil fuels, which evidently is a priority for them.

01:08 I thought that maybe here in the ACT Labor might be a little more receptive to the idea.

01:13 I thank my crossbench Greens colleagues Andrew Braddock and Jonathan Davis for presenting this

01:17 bill, but it has been made clear now that ACT Labor, just like their Federal colleagues,

01:22 are also opposed to lowering the voting age. Labor and Liberals, the old establishment parties,

01:28 are going down with their two-party system ship. Meanwhile, we Greens are here offering a life

01:34 raft to a generation of young people who demand better because they deserve better. When you have

01:41 100,000 students walking out of school demanding an end to new coal and gas projects but they are

01:47 not able to vote. When you have politicians with an average age over 50 accepting dodgy political

01:54 donations from the fossil fuel industry and then voting to subsidise new coal and gas projects

02:00 and using taxpayer money that 16-year-olds are obligated to pay. Pouring petrol on the fire,

02:07 knowing they will be fine with their parliamentary pensions and their complete lack of ethics.

02:12 All the while locking in global catastrophe, unliveable cities and unimaginable suffering

02:18 for the next generation before they even have a chance to exercise what should be their democratic

02:24 right to vote these climate-neglecting, fossil fuel-captured, sociopathic politicians from both

02:29 major parties out. Now imagine— I would like to acknowledge those in the chamber who have

02:36 advocated hard for this change. I strongly believe as an ACT Labor member in fostering a strong and

02:43 vibrant democracy. I would first like to say before I go on that I cannot go on and turn

02:49 my back on what Ms Davidson said. I found it very offensive. Everyone in this chamber, except for you,

02:57 gives speeches for the people of the ACT, not for social media. Members here actually care

03:03 about matters in the ACT, not populist campaigns in other jurisdictions. I am incredibly proud of

03:09 our ACT Labor members who actually focus on their own portfolios and work daily to improve and

03:16 progress our community. Minister, you are a member for justice, health, mental health and disability.

03:22 I fundamentally think you need to look at those very significant areas and issues facing people

03:28 in your own portfolios. Ask them what they think of you deflecting to federal politics

03:34 and not being able to provide a straight answer to any question. This does a major

03:39 disservice to the people of the ACT who your portfolios impact. Shame on you, Minister.

03:45 [BLANK_AUDIO]