imnofox spoke to a crowd of voters at the beach

"People of Australia! The Great Barrier Reef is in peril! Anthropogenic climate change is one of the greatest threats to the survival of the Great Barrier Reef. Tropical sea surface tempeatures have risen 0.5 degrees celsius since the late 19th century, and we can expect even more warming."

"As the climate warms, as we burn more and more fossil fuels, mining more and more coal to 'grow' the economy, we increase the risk of more intense and more regular severe weather events, like cyclones and storms that will weaken the reef and force sediment deposition onto the reef. Imagine that! The beautiful reef, in peril because of our obsession with black coal."

"As sea temperatures warm, even by a degree, the stress on the reef as a result of the heat is increased, and the corals will be bleached white, losing all their colour like overcooked pasta, as the algae living in their tissues are expelled. That is a major part of our tourist industry in ruins, and the destruction of an important habitat."

"The Reef is home to 600 types of soft and hard corals. It's home to 100 jellyfish species. It shelters 3000 different kinds of molluscs, 1600 different types of fish, and 130 different kinds of sharks and rays, along with 30 species of whales and dolphins, many endangered."

"It is their home too that is under threat, thanks to human actions. Mining and burning of fossil fuels is directly responsible for this ecological destruction. Eco-genocide. In the last few summers, severe bleaching killed at least 26% of the reef's corals, and perhaps even 50%. That is devastating, and will continue to occur until we turn this ship around and stop mining, burning, and exporting coal to the world."

"To keep our reefs all around the world alive and thriving, we have to keep warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius. Countries like New Zealand are already taking action, ending new offshore oil and gas exploration, targeting 100% renewable electricity generation, investing in public transport. We must do the same!"

"Our future as a species and the future of uncountable other species depends on us taking action, taking ownership of our destruction, and turning it around, making up for lost time. We have dawdled for too long, and at significant cost, to us, to our long term sustainability, to our economy, and to the world around us and the other creatures that we share it with."

"The Liberal Democratic Party have started a hostile pro-coal campaign against us, but that is not only hostile to the Greens, but hostile to the survival of the planet. The Greens are campaigning on saving the planet, while the Liberal Democrats campaign, proudly, on wrecking it for short term profits. We have great candidates up and down the country, standing up for the environment. Vote Greens #1!"