In Australia, Bob Brown led the campaign that saved Tasmania’s Franklin River in the 1980s, started Australia’s first green political party, and founded the Bob Brown Foundation. Now he’s the subject of The Giants, a new feature film documenting his work protecting Tasmania’s takayna rainforest. Here, Brown shares his tips on getting fired up for change—and making it last.
We’re in an extraordinarily fraught moment of human history right now because of the almost religious obsession with growth in every aspect of our lives—from having more goods and more money to increasing population. We’re told a growing economy depends on growing numbers of people. There were 2.5 billion when I came onto the planet in 1944; now there are over eight billion. That’s more than a tripling in my lifetime, and we’re using double the planet’s supply of living resources. This is why every morning we wake up with fewer forests and species, less arable land, depleted fisheries. There’s less of everything natural than the day before— but more mouths to feed, more bodies to clothe, more houses to build.
I often think of Bertrand Russell’s dictum that all the trouble in the modern world comes from the fact that “the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.” So many young people I meet have given up hope—because they’re intelligent. But we have to get beyond being depressed by what’s happening and take on the optimism, drive and zeal that leads to success in human affairs, even when things seem hopeless. One of the things I’ve learned from countless environmental campaigns over the years is that when all seems lost, you can still have hope.
That was the situation in the Franklin River campaign to protect the river valley from being flooded by the proposed Franklin Dam for a hydroelectricity project. It was 1983 and we were completely destroyed. The Green Party lost every seat we needed to win as Franklin advocates in the state election. The federal government wasn’t interested. The high court rejected our first bid to stop the dam. Eighteen months later, the Franklin was saved—because we didn’t give up and because when people came to the blockade and saw what a magnificent place we were fighting for, they came aboard in droves and voted out one government and put in another that promised to save it. I’m often introduced at events as “the man who saved the Franklin” but I was just one of 1,500 people arrested; 6,000 were at the blockade and hundreds of thousands more changed their vote. That’s what saved the Franklin: A community effort. Individual action is important, but we can do so much more together.
We can change the world. I’ve seen it happen—living proof that we don’t have to accept the status quo. The suffragettes didn’t. The civil rights activists didn’t. And we have arguably more influence than ever before, now that we’re a hyper-connected global community.
“No matter how urbanized we get as a species, we’re creatures of this planet from a time when it was 100 percent wilderness.”
- Bob Brown
The wonderful Australian poet Judith Wright said to me once, in the 1990s: “Bob, what’s happened, where’s the fire in people’s bellies?” She was right. Back then, people had become apathetic about the environment and social justice. But it’s coming back.
There’s a mood among people everywhere at the moment. It’s a mood of defiance, even in the face of new laws being passed all over the world to criminalize protests. And these laws are, paradoxically, a good sign. They’re an indication that the big-party politicians and the planet-destroyers are getting nervous. They know there’s a revolution coming, an intelligent revolution that says we’ll run this planet and share it sustainably, equitably—because it’s the only option we have.
No matter how urbanized we get as a species, we’re creatures of this planet from a time when it was 100 percent wilderness. That grip of our thumb with our fingers is for moving through the branches, our eyes are set back in our heads to keep us safe in a forest environment, our ears are designed to pick up the faintest sound on the forest floor—and not only that, we have a spiritual connection with nature. We put pictures of nature on our walls, we watch Attenborough documentaries, we take our kids to the bush or the beach or parks on our days off. There’s a huge repository of environmental get-go inside all of us, waiting to be tapped.
There are two things I say to all our campaigners. First, have fun. Don’t wear a hair shirt, don’t be grim about it, pace yourself. It’s important that you study and get your diploma or degree, go to parties, enjoy life. Don’t be overtaken by the enormous sense of urgency about what’s happening to the planet. The planet needs our aliveness and our creativity, not just our physical presence or our anger. As the social revolutionary Emma Goldman said in the early 1900s, “If I can’t dance to it, it’s not my revolution.”
Second, spend a night under canvas each month; it recharges the batteries and you’ll feel so much easier about all that still needs to be done. And when you’re out there, sit in a quiet spot and listen to the creek and the birds and the rustle of the leaves in the wind, listen to the heart of the place. Spending time in nature has certainly been an anchor for me during turbulent times of my life and I think it always will be. It’s like going home, to the home we all have, on this wild Earth.
As told to Louise Southerden
The theme for Earth Day 2023 is ‘Invest in Our planet’. Find out more about how you can take action for Earth on the official Earth Day website. The Giants is in cinemas across Australia from Thursday 20 April.
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Bob Brown led the campaign that saved Tasmania’s Franklin River in the 1980s, started Australia’s first green political party, became the first Greens senator, and created Bush Heritage Australia and the Bob Brown Foundation. Now he’s the subject of a new feature documentary, The Giants, which showcases his work protecting the giant eucalypts of the takayna/Tarkine forests in northwest Tasmania.
