I am thrilled to let you know that the Parliamentary petition to restrict the use of glyphosate in public spaces in Australia is now on the Parliamentary record and our Government has 90 days to respond.

The Parliamentary petition reached 11,000 signatures in the four week period in which it was open - thanks to your phenomenal support. 

It was considered at a recent meeting of the Petitions committee, and was certified as meeting the requirements for petitions. The petition was presented to the House of Representatives in Canberra on Monday 25 November 2019.

It has now been referred to the Minister for Agriculture.  Under the petition requirements, the Minister has 90 days from presentation in the House to respond to the petition. 

Zali Steggall MP will follow up with a motion drawing on both (the parliamentary and Change.org) petitions in early 2020, this will provide an opportunity for parliamentary debate with the cross bench.

I will work with Zali’s office to promote this issue to the Press Gallery, and secure lobbying meetings with relevant ministers in Canberra (timeframe for this visit to be confirmed in the New Year).

I am very thankful to have found two wonderful people who have experienced first-hand the devastating impacts of Roundup, to travel to Canberra with me, to bring the human element of this issue to life. I look forward to sharing more about them in due course. 

I have to admit that the next stage - the trip to Canberra for meetings with MPs - feels a little scary.

The world of Parliament and lobbying meetings is completely foreign to me, but at a time when many of us are feeling disillusioned with our political system, this is a wonderful reminder that everyday people can influence change, and you are doing just that by throwing your support behind this petition (and other causes you care about). 

I am beyond grateful to you for helping me get our federal politicians to give this issue the consideration it deserves - thank you, thank you, thank you. 

I'm feeling confident we can make history and get this cancer-causing ingredient out of our public spaces in 2020.

Zara D'Cotta.