IT”S good to be standing here, at the final turn of the electoral wheel for Denison after a campaign that was both exhilarating and exhausting — I’m sure for all of us who took our chances with Hare Clark in 2006.
I join my fellow candidates in congratulating Bruce Taylor and his exceptional staff for all their hard work and for bringing us such thrills and spills over a week and a half of counting.
I doubt any Tasmanian Green will forget where they were when news of Kim Booth’s re-election in Bass came through. No matter how often we experience the see-sawing tension of Hare Clark, it can still come up with a fairytale ending. Bass needs Kim Booth, and so does the Parliament. The more that we know and hear about the proposed pulp mill, the more, I am sure, Tasmanian people will become alarmed.
The Bass victory and re-election of four Greens demonstrates that people do care about more than tomorrow. They care about clean air and water, a GE free Tasmania, totally unique and ancient forests that would be fed into John Gay’s polluting mill, a coastline yet unspoiled by pulp mill effluent. What happens in Bass affects us all. Having Kim Booth’s voice in the Parliament is not just great news for the Greens and their supporters. It is a victory for the Tasmanian environment and for a democracy bruised by the greedy and self-preserving power blocs.
I share the sorrow of all Tasmanian Greens that Paul O’Halloran didn’t make it. Now, there’s a real loss to the Parliament and the people of Braddon — caretakers of the Tarkine, and the still threatened forests of the North West.
Campaign trail
All of us here today — successful and unsuccessful candidates — are to be congratulated for taking part, for wanting to make a difference and for having faith in the capacity of Parliament to do so. I know how hard everyone worked, and the sacrifices that were made. I saw David Bartlett’s tired eyes in the fourth week after a night up with the baby, yet he rallied to entertain a group of students on political life. Michael Hodgman on the other hand, never appeared tired. Maybe a little puffed ascending the Domain at the Friends of Soldiers’ Walk after a stirring speech in the first week, but Michael has proved his stayer’s status once again. Louise Sullivan, who joined me in the blazing Summer heat, then Autumn rain, at the Glenorchy markets each Sunday. I’d be there with a bit of Green paraphenalia, but mostly wanting to talk to the locals — and Louise would be frequently ringed by children and parents, waiting for their purple balloons.
No prizes for guessing who did the best business …
To all my fellow candidates, Green, Labor, Liberal, Socialist Alliance, Leo Foley and the independents, I enjoyed see you out and about on the campaign trail.
It reinforced to me the truth that there are good people of all political persuasions. There is much more that unites than divides us, but it takes courage to challenge a long standing political mould. The current model is flawed, and cracking. It’s disengages an electorate weary of the schoolyard spectacle that can be any one of the state and federal Parliaments.
Would that all our Parliamentarians could find a way to work better together, towards the worthy goal of consensus. The two new younger female members for Labor, Lisa Singh and Michelle O’Byrne, should use their new electoral strength to give the old guard a bit of a shake.
They need it.
Beacon of hope
The generational change in the Tasmanian Liberal Party is most encouraging. As we found in the battle to Save Ralphs Bay from a nasty canal estate proposal we defeated last year, Will Hodgman and Jeremy Rockliff are interested in good policy. They also understand that not all development is good for Tasmania, or for its communities.
I came to be a candidate because the Lennon Government backed a project that was a complete affront on social, environmental and long term economic grounds. While the threat of inappropriate development may have abated on Ralphs Bay, it has not gone away. Nor will I, and the thousands of Tasmanians who want their bays and beaches protected for all, and all time as we know it.
I will always believe the Greens are a beacon of hope for a sick planet. The Greens are on the path of good. The soundest of science and common sense are with us. We are concerned for the survival of myriad species, not least of all ourselves.
It doesn’t always mean the Greens will win the battle, because resistance to change is often strong, but it helps us stay focussed on what is a very long path.
More and more people love the Greens because we’re the party that rocks the old boat for the right reasons. I love the Greens because I love my children, all children, and theirs yet unborn.
While the Greens articulate the most sensible, least extreme way forward on the environment, we are also fast lapping the two major parties on matters of the social heart. This is evidenced by the Parliamentary and public records.
Much of this is due to the inspiring leadership of Peg Putt. That she easily topped the Denison poll is recognition Peg embodies those Green qualities of honesty, humility, integrity, hard work, patience and good humour. I was privileged to campaign alongside her and all the Green team, and with such dedicated staff. volunteers and supporters. I cannot thank the Tasmanian Greens enough for taking me in …
I campaigned as hard as was physically and mentally possible, without abandoning my beautiful family completely, but there was no groundswell for change to spill me over the line. I’m also deeply thankful and quite surprised that almost 2500 Denison voters put a one next to my name. Personally, every Green vote is another reminder that I can never stop working for that brighter, smarter future we know is possible.
Activism is a lifelong love job. So, I’m here for the duration — to make a positive contribution to Tasmania and all its shared treasures for all my living days.
Thank you.
Also published on:
www.cassyoconnor.com
Tasmanian Electoral Commission, Collins St Hobart
3 April 2006
