THE PLACE OF NATURE? ELECTORAL POLITICS AND THE TASMANIAN GREENS Kate Crowley Green politics in Tasmania is very much a politics of place, driven by struggles to save iconic natural areas such as Lake Pedder, the Franklin River, the South West wilderness and more recently the state’s old growth forests and unprotected areas. These struggles have inspired a green politics that is historic, in the sense of inspiring the formation of the world’s first green party, and distinctive for the growing and consolidating of green parliamentary representation. Whilst the rest of the world may be attempting to explain the waxing and waning of green parliamentary politics, in Tasmania the questions that need answers are: why does green parliamentary representation persist and has it reached its limits. This paper focuses on the trajectory of Tasmania’s parliamentary greening, rather than on the green movement’s broader characteristics, disputes and groups. It is a study of recent electoral efforts by the Tasmanian Greens and the counter efforts of anti-green forces. It focuses on the state election in 2006, and argues that there are very clear limits to the place of nature within the state parliament. Whilst the Greens are old hands at gaining parliamentary advantage, in the 2006 election opposing forces used effective tactics to constrain their further success. TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF Greens would again assume the balance of PARLIAMENTARY GREENING power and what demands they would bring Nearly twenty years ago, Australia’s small, to government. A further more academic remote, southern, and relatively wild, state question is whether, after decades in state of Tasmania was described as a crucible of parliament, the Greens are now capable of environmental conflict. It provided in mi- partnering more stable and productive co- crocosm ‘a taste of the likely shape of alition governments in which they serve politics elsewhere in the world should the with ministerial portfolios as members of green agenda reach the political frontline’.2 Cabinet. Since that time, the Tasmanian Greens A clear indication that the major parties (Greens) have been distinctive, no longer (Labor and Liberal) hope to constrain only for emerging from the world’s first Green parliamentary representation was green party,3 but also for their parliamen- evident a decade ago in their bipartisan tary longevity and achievements. It is now change to the state’s electoral system in twenty-five years since Greens were first 1998. The Liberal minority Government, represented in the Tasmanian parliament, which had been kept in power by the with the Lower House of Assembly’s pref- Greens, supported the Labor Opposition’s erential proportional electoral system4 amendment to the Parliamentary Reform ensuring their consistent presence since Act (1998) (Act31/1998) as one of its last 1982 (see Table 1). They have supported acts before the 1998 election. This two minority governments, one centre-right amendment raised the electoral quota for Labor Government (1989-91), and one cen- an individual from 12.5 per cent to 16.7 tre-right Liberal Government (1996-98), per cent and cut the numbers in the Lower with these parties being less distinguished House. The impact on Greens’ by ideological divides than in the Europe- parliamentary representation was an context.5 A key issue dominating the immediate in 1998, with 10.2 per cent of 2006 state election, in the absence of any the state vote under the new quota other catalysing issue, was whether the delivering the Greens only one seat, to its People and Place, vol. 16, no. 2, 2008, page 52 leader Peg Putt, instead of the four seats the part that the major parties have played that the old quota would have produced.6 in contributing to Tasmania’s parliamentary Having minority government rely upon greening. Typically this happens when the Greens had greatly stressed the major environment-versus-development conflicts parties, and greatly unsettled the business force the major parties together and create community and ultra-conservative the space for green politics to flourish.8 At Tasmanians. However, the attempt to wipe the 2002 election, for example, the major out the Greens enjoyed the briefest success. parties supported old growth logging, a The reform not only raised the electoral contentious Regional Forest Agreement, quota, but cut the total numbers in the and a proposed pulp mill. The Tasmanian Lower House from 35 to 25 members, environment has now assumed leaving both the government and international significance and the pressures opposition benches severely depleted for its protection, including of its old growth which remains a problem today. However forests, have escalated not declined. The Peg Putt was widely credited with working politics of place are certain to be sustained. tirelessly, supported by only one assistant, The trajectory of the green vote over to provide effective opposition to the Labor the last twenty-five years is therefore one Government on social, environmental and of a steady rising and consolidating despite state development issues for the next four two clear dips following both experiences years.7 of Greens-supported minority government. At the 2002 state election, the Greens The 1982 green vote of about five per cent were rewarded for their leader’s efforts with rose to 17.1 per cent in 1989, settled back a record vote of 18.1 per cent that returned in the 1990s conservatively to about 11 per their previous four members, most cent, and is currently averaging 17 per cent significantly at an election in which there for this decade (see Table 1). This rise does was no single catalysing environmental confirm Hay and Haward’s9 prediction that issue to stir the public. Indeed it could be ‘the green vote can make substantial argued that their leader’s effort between inroads into levels of traditional party elections not only ensured the persistence support’. These inroads, they suggest, of green parliamentary politics in Tasmania would be on the basis of a favorable at a time when it could have been election system, and a high and ongoing annihilated but raised the green vote to new visibility for environmental issues. heights. So the Greens survived the What they did not predict was, as we electoral reform threat against them. The have seen here, that the green vote would public backlash against their balance of not only survive an attempt to make the power experience was behind them, they electoral system less favorable, but that it had raised their vote to an all time high, would rise to new heights. Neither did they and returned to a position of strength by predict the shifting of the ‘environmental 2002. What did not kill the Greens issues—election outcomes’ dynamic, parliamentary politics in 1998 in fact only whereby it no longer entirely holds that only made it stronger at the 2002 election. critical environmental issues will decide the Indeed, from 1998 in particular, the Greens electoral fate of the Greens. In each of the have behaved more clearly as an opposition 1982, 1986, and 1989 state elections the party, ironically for four years with only Greens did benefit from catalysing one member, and at the very least have environmental issues fuelling their vote, confirmed their third party status. respectively attempts to dam the Franklin The green vote in general also reflects River, build a silicon smelter in a rural- People and Place, vol. 16, no. 2, 2008, page 53 residential zone, and build a billion dollar of political differentiation between the pulp mill at Wesley Vale. In recent elections, major parties and the Greens’ capacity for however, the Green’s policy vision for a re-visioning state development that attracts clean green state, and their efforts at filling voters to the Greens. The Greens also the opposition vacuum have substituted pursue political and administrative somewhat for ‘high, ongoing, visible’ transparency of government, a policy that environmental issues.10 resounds with a cynical public. And, finally, The success of green parliamentary even the reformed electoral system still politics in Tasmania has been fuelled, as offers great political opportunity.14 elsewhere, by a lack of confidence in established political parties. However this THE 2006 STATE ELECTION does not sufficiently explain why the It is salutary, therefore, to examine an elec- world’s first green party was founded in the toral campaign which abounded in state. Neither does it explain, in a anti-green propaganda from all quarters, as comparative sense, the sustained political parties, the business community parliamentary representation achieved by and conservative Tasmanians, all attempt- greens since 1982 nor the fact that the ed to head off another Greens-supported world’s first green-supported government minority government. The state election in was again achieved in Tasmania in 1989.11 2006 was indeed the nastiest seen for some In terms of national green electoral success time in Tasmania, which is perhaps surpris- in the European context, only Germany, ing given that the Greens have been in Luxembourg and Switzerland had managed parliament now for over twenty-five years. to elect green parliamentarians by 1984, by And yet, for a campaign that was distin- which time Tasmanian Greens had achieved guished more by its attacks on the Greens representation.12 And whilst Tasmanian and its scare mongering about minority gov- Greens first partnered minority government ernment than for any policy debate, the in 1989, in western Europe Greens did not result was unremarkable. The parliamenta- participate in government until 1995 ry make-up was unchanged in terms of (Finland), 1996 (Italy), 1997 (France), 1998 numbers by the election. (Germany) and 1999 (Belguim), although Fourteen Labor Government members, as coalition partners Greens in Europe did seven Liberal Opposition members, and all stay longer in power.13 four Greens were returned.