We want politicians to think of young people, not themselves, over climate crises

For 20 weeks or so each year, politicians come from far and wide to converge on Canberra. They come armed with memorised talking points, cracking insults and Dorothy Dixers, ready to stand up and speak to issues that they have no lived experience of.

A group of mostly wealthy white older men — the average age in Australia’s 47th Parliament is 51 — debate fossil-fuel projects that will have far-reaching ramifications on the frequency and severity of the climate crisis.

My generation will bear the brunt of those decisions.

On Monday, I stood beside independent Senator David Pocock as we launched a campaign to establish that the government owes young people a duty of care to take our health and well-being into account when making decisions that will contribute to climate change.