Planet Earth: The Palmer prognosis

Time is running out fast for Planet Earth. These are not the words of an environmental zealot. They are the conclusions of former NZ Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer. The Old Bear reports …

Ponder the following words on degradation of the environment and the urgent need for action: “If we’re not careful, it’ll just be the cockroaches left.”

It’s the concluding comment in an interview with long-serving New Zealand politician, former Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer, in the New Zealand Geographic, a magazine that maintains a serious focus on the environment.

And in a Tasmanian context (think Tarkine exploitation) consider his concern about present proposals in his country to mine in national parks: “I think there is a natural tendency in an economic downturn to feel, economically, a bit desperate, but the trouble with the environment is that it’s not a temporary phenomenon; it’s there for eternity, and once you’ve wrecked it, it’s wrecked.”

Sir Geoffrey became Minister for the Environment in 1987, retaining it when he became New Zealand’s 33rd Prime Minister in 1989. The year ‘87 saw their environment act enacted, the Department of Conservation arrive, the Ministry for the Environment and Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment having already been established. Sir Geoffrey regards their Resource Management Act as one of the most comprehensive reforms in the Western world, but also feels that now, after repeated tinkering with it, there’s need for it to have a complete rewrite.

But on a bigger note, does he remain optimistic for Planet Earth?

“I think one has to be. Your have to face reality though: you have to look at the depletion of resources, and the carrying capacity of the planet. And you have to ask yourself: ‘Can we afford to keep on doing this?’ ”

He follows this up with a declaration that he would like to see global environmental responsibility bound in law (he’s several times been rated as the most powerful lawyer in Kiwiland).

“We don’t have an international legislature that can make rules regulating the planet.” And he says climate change must be a priority. “When the Kyoto Protocol runs out, heaven knows how we’re going to handle this problem. My grandchildren, when 50 or 60 years have gone by, are not going to be in great shape to do anything about it then. It needs to be done now.

“Time is running out fast, and we lack the political will and the vision and the commitment as inhabitants of this planet to do this. And we must. I was making speeches about climate change in 1988. What is it that we don’t know? I think that we could still do something bold, but it needs leadership. And I don’t see any signs of it at the moment.”