Climate-Friendly, Progressive and Local: Interview with Greens Candidate for Sydney Luc Velez

Current environment minister Tanya Plibersek has held onto the federal electorate of Sydney since 1998. And when the Labor MP initially secured her comfortable seat, her political outlook was considered progressive and representative of the diverse constituency that she’d been representing in federal parliament.

Fast-forward a quarter of a century later, however, and the Plibersek that now continues to hold her safe seat of Sydney, is hardly seen to be representative of the people on the ground. Constituents are hard pressed to recall what she has done for the electorate lately, and when it comes to her ministerial position, well, greenlighting more coal in 2025 doesn’t really cut it.

Australian Greens candidate for Sydney Luc Velez cut his teeth organising in the climate movement, so he understands the urgency of the mounting climate crisis in a manner that the incumbent appears to have lost sight of at a point when her neglect is worsening an emergency that threatens us all.

So, while issues such as the dual cost-of-living and housing crisis are set to be front and centre at the ballot this year, constituents living on Gadigal land in the Division of Sydney owe it to future generations to vote Plibersek out, following her approval of more than 30 new coal and gas projects over her time as environment minister.

True representation for a diverse population

Unlike a lot of the political class who’ve spent so much time buffered in the Canberra bubble, Velez is aware of what it’s like living locally through these stark financial times. He’s borne witness to friends subjected to massive rent hikes to the point that they’re living in a state of precariousness, which is only being compounded by the ongoing price gouging tactics of the two big supermarkets.

Velez has also been a campaigner for LGBTIQA+ rights as an active member of Sydney organisation Pride in Protest. And the Greens candidate is extra busy this month, as not only is he out doorknocking in the inner-city suburbs of Redfern and Glebe, but he’s too a Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras board member.

Sydney Criminal Lawyers spoke to Greens candidate for Sydney Luc Velez about why the electorate needs a new face representing it in federal parliament, one who is directly connected to the people of the constituency and thus understands their needs, along with why the track record of the environment minister over the last three years warrants her getting the boot.

Luc, you’re running on the Australian Greens ticket in the coming federal election in the seat of Sydney. This means you’re up against current environment minister Tanya Plibersek, who has comfortably held onto the seat since 1998.

At the 2022 election and the couple before that whilst Plibersek sat in opposition, it was understood that the Labor MP would likely be returned.

However, this time round, after the last three years that she’s spent in parliament, her seat doesn’t seem so safe anymore.

So, how are you feeling about running against Plibersek this election? Do you think the past term of parliament has left her safe seat of Sydney less certain?

It is an exciting position to be in, because essentially right now my job is to talk to lots of people on doorknocks and stores, and it’s quite clear from what I have been hearing that things are changing for Labor in Sydney.

The Labor Party has absolutely been taking progressive voters in places like Sydney for granted.

If you are doing it tough at the moment, then you are certainly not alone. We are hearing that more and more people are struggling with outrageous rent increases or mortgage stress.

I heard from someone yesterday, who hasn’t gone to a GP or a dentist for years because of how much it costs. And in this context, people are looking for real solutions, yet none of the major parties are willing to tackle the causes of inequality on this continent.

In this election, politicians, like minister Plibersek, the Labor MPs who built their profiles around being progressive and appealing to a leftwing base, are in a totally different context in 2025.

They can no longer come to our communities in Glebe or Redfern and tell people that they are fighting for them, because for the last few years, they really haven’t been.

Instead, Labor have been giving out billions of dollars in tax handouts and negative gearing to wealthy property investors. They are approving coal mines. Labor have been allowing one in three big corporations to pay no tax, while they rake in massive profits.

Now, none of that sounds like the progressive values that our community in Sydney holds, so we’re in a really good place this election.

Considering the federal seat of Melbourne has been held by the Australian Greens for over a decade, it seems a little odd for a diverse city like Sydney not to be represented by a more progressive politician.

Along with being an active member of the Greens, you’re out and about on the streets of Sydney, and you’re currently a member of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras board, having been elected at the 2023 AGM, when you ran for it on behalf of Pride in Protest.

So, do you consider that a person like yourself might be more representative of the federal electorate of Sydney and why do you think this region might need a fresh face representing it in the capital?

Firstly, it is a little odd, right, that the federal seat of Sydney has been held for so long by Labor, particularly when the Greens and independents have held the constituent state and council seats for quite a long time now.

I wouldn’t be running in this election if I didn’t feel intimately connected with the community in this area.

You mentioned my engagement with Mardi Gras and my queer activism with Pride in Protest, and when it comes to queer representation, that is something that I have gone back and forth about, whether it is something that should be noticeable in this campaign.

I’m a leftie community organiser. I live in Newtown, so it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that everyone is queer or queer-adjacent, so we don’t need to stress too much about queer representation anymore.

So, I hadn’t really intended it to be a key point in this campaign, but then we are reminded of how bad Labor can be on queer issues.

The far-right on this continent are clearly feeling emboldened by Trump and other international trends, and so, we are certainly seeing a surge in queerphobia, particularly targeting trans members of our communities.

Yet, Labor seems unwilling to confront the transphobes openly and directly. This is the party that didn’t want to count some queer people in the Census. It is the party that refused to come out and really defend gender-affirming care and critical healthcare for trans people.

Instead, Labor has stood behind reviews, and it’s letting transphobes get away with spreading gross information.

Sydney is totally looking for a candidate that doesn’t just look like them or represent them, but actually fights for the things they care about, and that is something we really do need a Greens or an independent person for, someone there with really close connections with the community here.

The last thing I would say on representation, is that Sydney is very young in terms of an electorate. I read that about 51 percent of people in our area are between the ages of 18 and 34, yet there is still no one of my generation, Gen Z, in parliament at all.

So, the parliament isn’t just representative of a huge proportion of our community, and that is a big issue, and that’s something that people in Sydney are really looking for.

A lot of Sydneysiders would like to see you knock Plibersek off her perch due to the form she’s shown over her time as environment minister. When she took over the role three years back, her boss had declared that federal Labor would end the climate wars.

You’ve raised climate as an issue that’s important to you, so what do you think about how Labor has handled climate over its last term? And why would you say it’s important to get more Greens into parliament in terms of climate?

The Albanese Labor government has been extraordinarily disappointing when it comes to climate. I am not even sure if that is a strong enough term.

The Labor government has approved more than 30 coal and gas projects. It is just mind-boggling that self-described progressive politicians, like Albanese and minister Plibersek, are backing more coal and gas.

This is one of the main reasons that I put my hand up for this election. I came into politics through the climate movement. I learnt to organise there, and then, last year in September, I was at home reading the news, fuming, as I learnt that minister Plibersek had approved three coal mine extensions.

It is just so disempowering to see that our government has sided with the fossil fuel lobby over not even our future generations but our current generations.

When it comes to minister Plibersek’s personal role in worsening the climate crisis, there seems to be a few people who are eager to jump in and defend the minister.

There has been lots of speculation as to whether it is actually minister Plibersek who is making these calls. And from the outside, it is hard to tell if the environment minister genuinely wants to approve new coal mine expansions, or whether she is just a powerless figure in a party held to ransom by the interests of the fossil fuel industry.

But at the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter. What we have is a local member, who is still pouring more fuel onto the fire of this crisis.

So, the Greens have an essential role to play on climate. To keep people safe, we need a massive expansion of cheap, reliable and renewable energy, and Labor will only deliver the sort of transition we need if we force them to do so.

It looks like there might be a minority government. The last time there was a minority government, we secured billions for clean energy and world-leading climate laws. That’s doable again.

This time around, what we really need is Sydneysiders to use the ballot box to discipline Labor, to send a really clear message that if you sell out the planet to please your fossil fuel donors, then you can’t expect to keep representing our community and keep your job.

The last election was notable for the unprecedented slide in votes towards the Greens and independents.

The last few years have been a divisive time in Australian politics for a range of reasons, including the ongoing genocide in Gaza. And the influence the new US Trump administration will undoubtably have on local politics makes the future seem more uncertain.

So, what sort of outcome are you hoping to see in terms of the next federal parliament overall? And how would you say such a parliament would bring about a brighter future?

The best parliaments are hung, and a minority government is very much on the cards. It’s also looking more promising that more Greens than ever will be going down to Canberra after the election.

So, I’m feeling quite optimistic and hopeful that we will be in a position to force Labor to actually do left-wing politics.

In the current parliament, Labor have tried hard to prevent the Greens from claiming anything was a win.

They’ve been far more obstinate than their base would want, from the nature positive laws to housing, Labor hasn’t even been meeting the minimum standards of their own policies, as they are so loathed to compromise with the Left.

A strong Greens presence will mean Albanese has to swallow some of his pride and come to the negotiating table in better faith, than he is currently willing to do.

That is how we will be able to deliver some really key reforms.

But before we go onto the next question, you mentioned the genocide in Gaza. I want to bring that up, to say that whether it’s inside or outside of parliament, it is so vital to keep up the pressure on the Labor government to sanction the genocidal Israeli regime and insist on the protection of the human rights of Palestinians.

The recent Trump developments are scary. We need Australia to be a leader on this more than ever.

I’ve been hearing so much support for the Greens, while I’ve been out doorknocking, because of our solidarity with the struggle for a free Palestine and our anticolonial and antiracist commitment need to be extended into the next parliament.

For what it is worth, I would absolutely like to shout out Senator Mehreen Faruqi for her extraordinarily staunch and powerful leadership on this issue.

When it comes to how we are engaging with Labor, what needs to be in all those conversations is how we are approaching Palestine.

And lastly, Luc, if elected you’ll be entering office at a time when the cost-of-living crisis and the housing crisis have been pinching at the Australian constituency for years, and these crises are only set to continue.

So, if elected, what will you be prioritising for the constituents of Sydney? What do you plan to get done in parliament for those who are feeling it at present?

Worries about the cost of rent, mortgage or food, really needs to be the number one thing that is coming up as we campaign. So, if you are stressed about the cost-of-living you are not alone.

In a wealthy country like ours, everyone should be able to afford the basics. Yet, we know that hardworking people are paying too much, while corporations make massive profits, while paying very little tax.

A huge focus for the Greens, and the Sydney campaign in particular, is we absolutely need to push the suite of what we are calling the ‘Robin Hood taxes’.

We are basically making the big corporations and billionaires pay their fair share of tax, so we can afford some long overdue measures that target inequality and help people who are struggling.

It’s nice now that the Greens have credibility on housing and cost-of-living issues, because of years of years of work by people like Jenny Leong in Newtown and Max in Brisbane, and people are seeing the Greens as leaders in that space.

We really need to keep up that work. With the money we can raise from these Robin Hood taxes, we can be doing things like getting dental and mental health into Medicare. We want to be freezing and capping rent increases, wiping off student debt and making supermarket price gouging illegal.

The Greens have a big ambitious plan, but change doesn’t happen overnight.

The first thing we need to do is to vote for the change we want, so that Sydney has a local representative who is actually fighting for these things – even if it doesn’t happen right away, it is bringing us closer and closer to the world we want.