Today’s resignation of Bob Brown as the leader of the Australian Greens is a historic moment for the environmental movement in Australia. From the Franklin Dam campaign in the early 80’s Dr Brown has been a prominent face of the grassroots environmental movement and then the Greens political party.
He will be remembered by future generations as a visionary leader who stood up for social justice and for the protection of our natural heritage. He has been a steady voice of reason in a parliament that is so often dogged by vested interested and shortsightedness.
His retirement comes at a time when the big end of town are gearing up for an unprecedented assault on environmental regulation at both a State and National level. No doubt there will be much hopeful speculation by the coal and other polluting industries over the future of the Greens, but I’m sure anyone who has dealt directly with Christine Milne will know that the Greens party, and their vision is in safe hands.
Over the last ten years at Greenpeace I’ve had the pleasure of working closely on environmental issues with politicians of all persuasions – from the Liberal Party, National Party, ALP, Greens and Independents. In that time, both Bob Brown and Christine Milne have both stood out from the crowd. Bob because of his ability to maintain a kind of playful equanimity in even the most difficult circumstances, and Christine because of her intellect, incredible grasp of policy detail, and sheer force of will.
It is Christine Milne, more than any other politician, who can claim credit for the progress that Australia has made at a federal level on renewable energy and climate policy. She has proven herself to be a potent advocate for the transition to a clean economy and I am confident that under her leadership, The Greens will continue to play a strong leadership role for climate action.
I’m sure the Greens will continue to play a strong moderating role in the Federal Parliament to try to blunten the anti-environmental agenda that the big polluters are steadily building. That said, I’m looking forward to the day when all Australian political parties can put vested interests aside and embrace the kind of long-term, positive vision of sustainability that we so urgently need.
Bob Brown will be sorely missed by the Greens, but he will no doubt remain a powerful voice of sanity when he once more returns to being a grassroots environmental activist.
