Super Annoyed
The Greens should put their antagonism towards the Exclusive Brethren, Tasmanians for a Better Future etc behind them. Blaming hidden forces and Christian nutters is not going to win them extra votes the next time around. Pursuing the Brethren, in particular, is not a good look and only gives the Abetz’s of this world further ammunition.
READING the Charter of the Tasmanian Greens indicates, by and large, that this a thoughtful bunch of people interested in a more inclusive society, social justice
and a sustainable future.
Also at the heart of the document is the deep commitment to environmentalism. These are, though broad, extremely attractive principles that theoretically should appeal to a wide range of people, particularly in these times of potential climate change, rampant right wing national governments and global interconnectedness.
However, the majority (>80%) of the electorate in Tasmania does not want the Greens to have a significant role in Government. And this is the most successful State in Australia as far as the Greens go!
Super Annoyed, despite the epithets often directed at him/her, is no ‘right-wing warrior’, ‘neocon’ or ‘government stooge’, but he/she does represent a significant component of the electorate — educated, inner-city and interested in the environment — so where did the Greens lose his/her support?
Why am I Super Annoyed at the Greens? More importantly, what lessons can be learned if the Greens hope to become a significant force and influence on the political decisions of the day?
Of course, the counter view may be that the Greens, as a party of principle, is not interested in power. To this, Super Annoyed says poppycock! You don’t get into
politics if you are not interested in the exercising of power and influence.
One clear example is the Greens’ undermining and destruction of their rival, the Democrats, at the state (especially SA and TAS) and Federal (Senate) level. Lots of dirty politics here even though both parties have a very similar platform. The Greens have won this one and have usurped the Democrats around the country.
The other example is recent electoral history where the State Greens were drawing up plans to share power in a coalition arrangement with the anticipated minority
Labor Government. As far as regional examples go, we have stories of attempted Greens takeovers of, for example, the Ralphs Bay and Tamar Residents Action
Committee campaigns.
But clearly something is going wrong where the Greens have failed to maintain a supporter base above 20%. The last election was a clear repudiation of the Greens desire to, at least, share power with the Government of the day.
Super Annoyed has bent his/her mind away from the many other annoying facets of daily life to identify where the public relations aspect of the Greens campaign is
going wrong, and, in an attempt to be helpful, suggests a few solutions for the Tasmanian Greens.
1. The Art of Compromise
The psychological profile that emanates from the State Greens is one of “Us and Them”. This has developed to a most unhelpful level in recent years and is fuelled
by an emerging tribalism amongst Greens supporters. Alignment to the Greens ideology has manifested in a perceived arrogance relative to other points of view.
This perception of an inability to see the world through others’ eyes leads to diminished confidence of the Tasmanian population that the Greens could govern
in fairness for all groups. Both Labor and Liberal parties have always acknowledged that compromise and being tuned to the interests of the populace can be an electoral asset as much as having firm planks in your platform. A good example is the success of John Howard’s government — nobody much likes them but even well educated, reasonable people will vote for them if they believe that it is their short and long term, usually economic, interests. Now, many Greens may be starry eyed idealists, nothing wrong with that, but if you are not prepared to be flexible, to lose some battles to win the war, then the public won’t trust you in a governmental role.
2. Pick some Winners
The Greens need to refocus on issues that the populace will find palatable to support. Alternative energy, fragile ecologies, sustainable living, employment
opportunities for them and their kids, maintaining social cohesion etc are all areas that the population want to know about and are willing to support. At the
Federal level, the Greens are being very successful in deconstructing this silly ‘War on Terror’ and there is now great sympathy, for example, for a fairer treatment of David Hicks. The Greens could have a head-start on the other key areas mentioned above that are relevant at the State level but have instead decided to fight a trench warfare on issues that the Tasmanian majority do not care significantly about. The Dam War was won many years ago and the Greens are still trading off its success. As Greg Barns has indicated, the Forestry War is just about over and doesn’t rate with the masses as it once did. Recherche Bay has been nullified. The Tas Labor folk were very shrewd with the Community Forest Agreement and the population have bought into the view that clearfelling in native forests will be phased out by 2010 (even though it probably won’t). Also, there is a view that the Tasmanian Land Conservancy is usurping the Greens somewhat by their positive approach to environmental protection. You would also have to give credit to Evan Rolley for being a very effective spokesperson for Forestry — he was charming and articulate and helped defuse many potential hazards for the industry over many years. I think he is also, potentially, a casualty of a realignment of political forces and priorities subsequent to the massive PR campaign around the Forestry War.
The Forestry War is just about over but there is a bigger environmental picture and campaign to be captured and won. Intelligent and creative repositioning of the Greens would place them in a good position for future electoral success.
3. Wrong State Leader at this time.
Peg Putt is clearly very much the General in this Forestry trench war. The Greens leader does not seem to sense that the winds of public opinion have changed, and that the public’s concerns largely lie elsewhere. As with Evan Rolley, it may be time for Peg Putt to pull back and let some new views and approaches come forward. Nick McKim is an obvious candidate — articulate and well tuned to the wider views of the Tasmanian population. Though somewhat electorally invisible, Tim Morris is also an intelligent operator and has a broader perspective on environmentalism and issues of interest to Tasmanians — he would be a valuable Deputy for the Greens leadership team.
4. Get over the last election.
The Greens’ disappointment at the last election was palpable, and there were unfortunate comments and examples of bad sportsmanship. Both Labor and Liberal
parties know that Western Democracy is best served by acknowledgement of the will of the electorate. This is why there is a general tradition of gracious speeches by the winning and losing parties. Furthermore, bad vibes will ring in people’s ears through to the next election. That is why these speeches are a great opportunity for the losing parties to acknowledge the wisdom of the electorate and to promise to work towards getting their support the next time around.
The Greens should put their antagonism towards the Exclusive Brethren, Tasmanians for a Better Future etc behind them. Blaming hidden forces and Christian nutters is not going to win them extra votes the next time around. Pursuing the Brethren, in particular, is not a good look and only gives the Abetz’s of this world further ammunition.
5. Pick your friends carefully.
The Greens case for government was dramatically undermined by the company that they kept. For example, Richard Flanagan has actively antagonised large
swathes of the Tasmanian population by his ill-mannered criticism of Jim Bacon so soon after his death. In addition, his banging on about the evils of Tasmanian politics and industries in the national and international press has also contributed to the poo accumulating in his own nest. By all accounts a clever fellow, why Mr Flanagan decided not to take a more progressive and healing role in the Forestry War is beyond me. It may be due to idealistic commitment, which you certainly can’t blame anyone for. However, there is no discounting that, despite Mr Flanagan having no official association with the Greens, his high profile engagement in the Forestry War served to antagonise many Tasmanians from the Greens cause further. Ditto for the involvement of groups such as the Doctors for Forests. There is a perception that there is this elitist, well-heeled set who are seeking to dictate to the wider population in a high-minded fashion. This has contributed significantly to the tribal aspect of the Forestry War. Alignment with elements of the far left and the feral element also does not help to assure the average voting punter that the Greens will be sensible in a governing role. But that can be another whole treatise.
6. All Governments are corrupt
No government is perfect. Western democracy and the rule of law is about as good as it gets. All large organizations are subject to some degree of manipulation and exploitation by special and insider interests. It is impossible to completely fireproof government at any level from corrupt behaviour. Most Western Democracies do a reasonable job at keeping a lid on rampant corruption. The Greens should stop antagonizing the wider community by asserting corruption at every turn — the population switches off at this Chicken Little tactic. Keep your powder dry for the big cases. I think this was a very important turn-off for electorate at the last election — there was a feeling that government time was being wasted, and individuals vilified, by the incessant claims of corruption and fraud against Government and governmental agencies. In this regard, the Labor Government may well get off the hook over the current scandalous TCC affair simply because the public has been bombarded with less well supported claims previously, and may not have the will to swing behind demanding a major political casualty.
In conclusion
I could obviously go on and on, and I don’t expect a lot of agreement from many denizens of TT, but if future electoral success is something that the Greens are interested in, there needs to be some serious soul-searching as well as strategic planning for this political party. I look forward to the day that the Greens party can work effectively with other Parties to assure Tasmania’s prosperous and socially progressive future.
