An Interpretive, Paradigmatic, and Comparative Analysis of Canadian and Australian Green Parties by F. Timothy H. Boston, Dip.Soc.Sc. B.A. M.Env.Stud. A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirement's for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy , in - Environmental Studies University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, June, 2002 © Tim Boston 2002 Declaration of Originality This dissertation contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other higher degree or graduate diploma in any tertiary institution and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, contains no • material previously published or written by another person, except when due reference is made in the text of this dissertation.. Tim Boston Statement of Access This dissertation may be made available for loan and limited copying in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. Tim Boston Abstract Green parties have acquired political influence in Australia, and more recently, Canada. Specifically, Australia has federal and state Green parliamentarians, while polling data demonstrates that since 1991, Canadian Greens have, taken together, increased their share of the popular vote. Notwithstanding their electoral successes, the two countries' Green parties have also had a notable effect on the public's conception of environmental issues. To date, however, there has been barely any examination of the paradigm, or more specifically, the beliefs of the federal and state/provincial Canadian and Australian Greens, let alone a comparative analysis of the two countries' set of Green parties. Hence, I provide a paradigmatic, comparative analysis of the Green parties of Canada and Australia, most substantially, via the interpretive approach which identifies the ethnographic writer/researcher as, on balance, a part of and not entirely removed from the research study (hence, the use of the word 'I' throughout the dissertation). I argue that the recent scholarly publications detailing the nature of the Australian and Canadian Greens do not offer a paradigmatic examination or comparative analysis of the two countries' Green parties, and accordingly, I attempt to fill this gap in the literature. Moreover, I ask if the Greens of Australia and Canada share similar or different paradigmatic positions. My findings reveal that the two countries' Green parties share a common belief system, and to varying degrees all value, for instance, environmental protection, social justice, interdependence, diversity, and nonviolence. This said, I offer three notable differences. Several of the Australian Green parties advocate plantation forestry, which is in direct contrast to the philosophy of ecoforestry — an ecosystem-based interpretation of forestry advocated by most if not all of Canada's Greens. Together, the Green parties of Australia recognise the relationship between physical activity, health, and societal well-being more often than their Canadian counterparts. Generally speaking, Canada's Greens lean towards principle-based politics (though, the Newfoundland Green Party is somewhat of an exception), while Australia's Greens tend to embrace constituency-based politics. Acknowledgments Special thanks are expressed to my supervisor Pete Hay for his kindness and generosity. He embodies what I believe is at the core of a compassionate Green movement. I would also like to thank my family for their love and encouragement. It is their support that makes my efforts possible. I am also indebted to my academic and activist colleagues for having given me the skills to create this document. Finally, I am grateful to those who provided information for this study — their contributions and advice have been essential. iv Table of Contents 1. Introduction 1 2. Literature Review: Recent Works on Canadian and Australian Greens 14 3. A Global Emphasis: Exploring the Green Party of Canada 24 4. North America's First Green Party: The Green Party of British Columbia 47 5. Greens in Canada's 'Wild West': The Green Party of Alberta 70 6. The New Green Alliance: Saskatchewan's Green Party 86 7. A Party in the Making: Discovering the Green Party of Manitoba 98 8. Challenging Ontario's Industrial Tide: The Green Party of Ontario 116 9. Terra Nova Greens: The Green Party of Newfoundland and Labrador 136 10.Brief Overview of the Canadian Green Parties 155 11.The Green Party at the Federal Level: The Australian Greens 157 12.Canberra's Green Party: Australian Capital Territory Greens 175 13.The World's First Green Party: The Tasmanian Greens 195 14.Living with the Legacy of Eurocentric Exploitation: The Victorian Greens 209 15.Greens in Australia's Industrial Core: The Green Party of New South Wales 224 16.The Tropical Greens: The Green Party of Queensland 241 17.Progressive, Independent, and Driven: The Greens of Western Australia 257 18.Brief Overview of the Australian Green Parties 272 19.Similarities and Differences between the Canadian and Australian Greens 274 20. Conclusion 288 21. Bibliography 301 1. Introduction Background, and the Research Value of the Study The very first Green Party was established in Tasmania, Australia less than 30 years ago — a short time in political history.' Since 1972, Green parties have gained seats at the federal, provincial or state, and municipal levels worldwide.' More recently, Germany, the world's third largest industrial power, elected its first Labor-Green coalition government. 3 Greens have also gained federal seats in France and Sweden.' Australia has federal and state Greens,' while polling data reveals that since 1991, Canadian Greens have shown gains in the popular vote.' So far, however, there has been very little examination of the paradigm of the Greens.' There is a need for a careful and clear consideration of their paradigmatic nature. Irrespective of their electoral successes, all the parties have had a significant effect on the world's understanding and interpretation of environmental affairs. Furthermore, there are a number of benefits to a paradigmatic analysis of Green parties. It provides policymakers, activists, academics and many others with an understanding of the beliefs that shape Green Party action. It also offers the general public an overview of recent Green thought. A Purpose of the Study There are scholarly publications that survey individual Green parties such as the Spanish Greens or the Green Party in Germany.' However, little 1 In March 1972, the world's very first Green Party (the United Tasmania Group) was formed at a public meeting in Hobart. See "Greens in Time and Space: The History of The Green Party" located at <http://www.greens.org.nz/permanent/history.htm >; and Connors, L. and Hutton, D. (1999). A History of the Australian Environment Movement. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2 See, for example, "The Greens - Index" located at <http:/ /start.at/the.greens.index >. 3 See, for example, "Home Page of the Greens in the European Parliament" located at <http: / / www.axl.be/ green/ >. 4 See, for example, "Archive of Events in the Development of Green politics" located at <http: / /start.at/ the.greens.index>. 5 See "Information about the Australian Greens" located at <http: / / www.peg.apc.org/ -ausgreen/ >. 6 See "Welcome to Green Party of Canada" located at <http://www.green.ca/index- e.htm>. 7 1n using the term 'paradigm,' I am refering to the larger and all encompassing sense of the word as it is defined later in the chapter. In short, I do not use the expression 'paradigms' in the dissertation (in similar fashion, many academics choose to use the word 'society' in a general sense, rather than the term 'societies'). 8 Investigate, for example, Holliday, I. (1997). "Spanish Greens in the Mid-1990s," 1 rigorous work of a paradigmatic, comparative nature has been conducted on the Greens.' For example, few authors have studied whether the various Greens embrace similar or different belief systems.' My research offers a step towards helping address this substantial gap in the literature. The Scope and Research Questions In order to retain a manageable scope, I have limited my study to Canadian and Australian Greens." Specifically, building on my previous research efforts, and the work of green political scholars, I have undertaken a paradigmatic and comparative analysis of federal and provincial! state Greens in Australia and Canada. I also offer answers to the following key questions which are, in part, designed to support the formation of a clear, paradigmatic and comparative examination of the Greens: 1) Do the recent works that examine the Greens in Canada and Australia provide a paradigmatic examination of Canadian and Australian Greens?; 2) Do the works offer a comparative analysis of Australian and Canadian Greens?; 3) What are the demonstrated paradigmatic positions of the federal and , provincial/state Greens?; and 4) Do the Greens share similar or different paradigmatic positions? A Rationale for Selecting Australia and Canada Why did I choose Canada and Australia as a basis for comparison, and not, say, Uganda and Chile? While Canada and Australia have their differences they also share significant similarities. Canada and Australia are Environmental Politics, Vol. 6, No. 3, pp. 168-75; and Frankland, E.G. (1992). Between Protest and Power: the Green Party in Germany. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. 9 For example, I only found five publications after searching the libraries of the University of Waterloo, University of Guelph, Wilfrid Laurier University, University of Victoria, McGill University, Simon Fraser University, and Harvard University in June 1999. They are: Parkin, S. (1989). Green Parties: An International Guide. London, UK: Heretic; Muller- Romel, F. (1989). New Politics in Western Europe: The Rise and Success of Green Parties and Alternative Lists. Boulder, CO: Westview Press; Kitschelt, H. (1989). The Logics of Party Formation: Ecological Politics in Belgium and West Germany. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press; Rudig, W. (1990). Explaining Green Party Development: Reflections on a Theoretical Framework. Glasgow, Scotland, UK: Dept. of Government, University of Strathclyde; and Gnmen — Green Party.