Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Official Report 925KB pdf

Time for Reflection

Good afternoon. The first item of business this afternoon is time for reflection, and our time for reflection leader today is Dr Lesley Morrison.

Are we being good ancestors? Let me tell you about a very special woman who lived in Peebles until two years ago, when she died aged 93. She lived her life as a Quaker. In the words of George Fox, founder of the Quakers, she walked “cheerfully over the world,” seeing the good in everyone and everything.

She made everything she wore, she wasted nothing, her garden was loved and beautiful and her gate and door were always open. She and her late husband were Mr and Ms Community—they were engaged, connecting and encouraging. In the 1980s, they founded the Tweeddale Peace Group, and in 2021, we planted a tree on the banks of the River Tweed to commemorate that and welcome the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Our friend embodied Quakerism. She lived life to the full, with curiosity, creativity and kindness. She left a legacy of love and compassion. She also had courage. I will quote the Quaker book of advices and queries:

“Live adventurously. When choices arise, do you take the way that offers the fullest opportunity for the use of your gifts in the service of God and the community?”

We have come to understand what our friend always knew—that life cannot be taken for granted, and that we need to work urgently to preserve the earth that we love. She knew that peace and our ecological system are interdependent, and that we need to find ways of working with those whose actions could destroy them.

Peace, climate justice, social justice and racial justice are all interconnected. When I worked as a general practitioner, I heard stories on a daily basis about people’s lives that illustrated that. The climate crisis is a health crisis, and health professionals have a duty to use their voice to say that very loudly. The duty of us all, perhaps especially politicians, is to look at the many issues that we face in the world today through the lens of the climate crisis.

Climate change is the crucial issue of our time, but rather than be overwhelmed by the enormousness of the task, let us instead adopt the attitude of Christiana Figueres, who chaired the UN Paris climate talks. She said:

“We are privileged to be alive now at this time of climate crisis when we have the opportunity to make a real difference.”

We can all work together in a spirit of hope. The one question that we all have to ask ourselves is, “Are we being good ancestors?”

Thank you.

Thank you, Dr Morrison.

Before we move to the next item of business, I invite members to join me in welcoming to the gallery the honourable Craig Farrell MLC, President of the Legislative Council, Parliament of Tasmania. [Applause.]