Scott Ludlam, Western Australia’s most recently elected Greens Senator, will put forth his parliamentary agenda on Tuesday in an inaugural speech that will both inspire and confront.

“It is time for determined, intelligent, coordinated action,” Senator Ludlam said.

“An energy-efficient Australia can be renewably powered within a generation.

“With determination and foresight, we can step past the desperate handful of fossil advocates who are scaremongering about the end of the economy as they know it and demanding that Australia not get too far in front of the rest of the world. The most damaging myth of all is the one which says this can’t be done.”

“People who say it can’t be done need to get out of the way of those who are doing it.”

He also sets out a vision for an alternate economic paradigm, one that is not based on blind growth.

“Our greatest tragedy is to imagine that this is the only kind of economy there is,” he says. “This isn’t the end of economic growth, but the beginning of a conversation about what kind of growth we need and what kind we can no longer afford.”

Aiming to increase people’s quality of life while reducing the amount of resources consumed, Scott is committed to the principles of sustainable and renewable communities; incorporating affordable housing, transport, climate change, energy and water, urban planning, infrastructure and local governance to create a sustainable and livable urban environment.

“I think it’s time we admitted that far from being an economic and social disaster, greening our communities can transform our society for the better.”

Senator Ludlam’s inaugural speech will take place at approximately 5.15pm Tuesday, 16 September 2008 in the Senate Chamber.

To watch the speech live online visit http://webcast.aph.gov.au/livebroadcasting/

The broadcast will also be available at www.scottludlam.org.au from Wednesday 17 September.

For information contact Rachel Pemberton: 0408 988 977