Memo for a saner world

Bob Brown
Penguin 2004

Bob Brown’s book includes interesting accounts of a variety of campaigns and struggles around environmental issues. He writes well on a number of current political, social and cultural issues.

He describes how the Tasmanian Green M Ps acted in Tasmania’s Labor–Green Accord. For example having "voted for Field’s cut and slash budget" and visited schools listed for closure, Brown writes "Christine Milne drafted a bill to guarantee the continued life of twentytwo schools . . . the Greens bill was passed by both houses of parliament." (p.123-4)

On page 125 Brown writes "Once in office, Labor’s commitment to gay and lesbian law reform, Aboriginal land rights and freedom of information (FOI) waned."

He relates the circumstances of the break up of the Labor–Green Accord. And how ". . . Field handed us a copy of his Forest Reform Bill, which effectively transferred control of the forests from parliament to the woodchippers. . . . there was to be no limit on the export of Tasmania’s old-growth forests as woodchips. We relabelled it the "Forests Destruction Bill". (p.127)

Brown describes the political maneuvring which took place and Field’s vacillation and then final open surrender to the woodchippers. In the ensuing election the Greens held all of their five seats and "Labor lost three to the Liberals".

I personally witnessed the anger against Field’s actions within the ALP itself at meetings of members who were in revolt. Extensive research, and some publicity work, which revealed that the advent of woodchips export coincided with ongoing decline in forest-based industry employment had led to my invitation to these meetings. The meetings, incidentally, inspired the formation of an environment and social justice group which included members of the ALP, ex CPA members and Greens.

Early in his book Bob Brown indicates his basic philosophy "Humanity's happiness, if not its entire future, is tied to its responsibility to end the rapid destruction of the Earth's living mantle." (p.5)

"Long ago I ceased to believe in religious dogma. What I do see is the continuing unfolding of the human spirit, or consciousness, and an awareness greater than in any other creature on Earth. The universe, through us, is evolving towards experiencing, understanding and making choices about its future. We are the universe thinking.

"This is a fragile thing. The mind depends on the physical self, and so the unfolding of human awareness depends on the safety of human life, which in turn depends on the health of the Planet." (p.12)

Are environmental economics capable of delivering such a laudable vision?

Examples of differing answers to this question include: Hugh Hamilton "Environmental economics is an unapologetic extension of the old economics, incorporating some new elements in the individual consumer’s set of preferences. . . ." (Hamilton 2004, p.203)

Peter Hay is more positive. He places environmental economics ". . . within the paradigm of neo-classical economics" but with ". . . a somewhat different conception to that of the market as an inexorable force which renders foolish the very enterprise of public policy. . . . Environmental economics does concede that markets fail." (Hay 2002, p.221)

There is increasing evidence of growing tension between Green aspirations and practice on the one hand and neoclassical economic theory on the other. To witness: strong anti-corporation statements from Bob Brown as Greens’ leader and acceptance that Telstra should not be further privatised.

Max Bound