Greens' Jobs & Environment Seminar
Thank you to the organisers, This seminar means a great deal to me because in many ways my life has straddled the trade union movement and the environment movement. My first job at fourteen was at the MUA and I returned to work there later. I have also worked with various environment groups. I think what we are grappling with today goes to the heart of how we are going to achieve a Greens' vision and I am using 'Greens' in the wider sense of the word.
Organised by Greens NSW
Thank you to the organisers, This seminar means a great deal to me because in many ways my life has straddled the trade union movement and the environment movement.My first job at fourteen was at the MUA and I returned to work there later. I have also worked with various environment groups. I think what we are grappling with today goes to the heart of how we are going to achieve a Greens' vision and I am using 'Greens' in the wider sense of the word.
There have been three strong themes today. Firstly, creating environmentally-friendly jobs; secondly, the cooperation between unions and environment groups and the progressive forces in our communities; and thirdly, the important job ahead of getting rid of the Howard government. Clearly these themes are connected.
When talking about environmentally-friendly jobs, it is important that the new workers become union members. As we know, people building solar panels, labouring on an organic farm, or working for an eco-tourism operator can be just as badly exploited as people working in traditional factories.
The next theme was the cooperation between unions and the environment groups. Cooperation has always been there. Although there has been some antagonism, you can go back to the early 1970s when the environment movement was establishing and there was significant cooperation to varying degrees.
But like anything, it can be improved: we need to analyse it and work together. This cooperation will flourish to its full extent if we have a public dialogue and provide the public education that is so important in any campaign.
Public education is critical to this campaign because - while we may know that 'jobs versus the environment' is a big lie - the broader community stills buys the myth. We need to turn this around and debunk the myth, otherwise all the other fine things that we have talked about today will be hard to achieve.
We also need to turn it around before the next election. It is no longer just the Greens party that is damaged by the 'jobs versus environment' lie. In October 2004 we saw the Labor Party damaged by it, when the debacle around their forest policy unfolded. Whilst it may have had something to do with timing and strategy, it was also because this 'jobs versus environment' lie made it easy for Howard to perpetuate his dominance.
In 2005 we need to build a strong public discourse to expose this lie, to create meaningful work and to promote and win protection of the environment that we must achieve for future generations.
Thankyou.
