Bob Brown
Do you think there will ever be a break with the two-party system in Australia?
This election is another stepping stone in that direction. We're not going to form government, or, indeed, form opposition, but the Greens are planning to add to Christabel [Chamarette]'s seat in the Senate. We hope to pick up seats in anywhere between two and five other states.
One of the big things stacked up against the smaller parties is the media fascination with the Hewson vs Keating thing. I think senior journalists are as remiss in that as those two men are themselves.
How does the current electoral system impact on the Greens?
It impacts greatly, because it's an undemocratic system. The proportional representation system, like we have in the Senate, should also apply in the House of Reps, that is the Hare Clarke system we have in Tasmania, which has seen five Greens in the parliament.
Under the system for the House of Reps in this federal election, half of Australia will wake up on March 14, with their vote having been wasted because they haven't elected anybody. Under proportional representation or the Hare Clarke system, everybody wakes up in the morning with someone getting in who they've voted for, except for a very small number of people.
How is the Greens' campaign going in terms of activist support?
It's really heartening. It's the biggest support we've ever had, in Tasmania, for a federal campaign. The turnout at events that I've been to on the mainland has been extremely good. I think that's because people are just frustrated to death with the prospect of either Hewson or a return to the Keating form of government, and because all the value issues that so many groups are campaigning on have been left off the agenda, left out of the debate.
What are the plans for building the national Green Party after the elections?
I think we'll go well, particularly if we get more senators in. It's a matter of giving people the confidence to peel off from their old parties and join the new.
It's inevitable that we're seeing the emergence of a Green politics, and that doesn't just mean the Greens, it means a diversity of other parties who are going to be on the Green end of the spectrum. It's er that and feel confident about it, because there is no alternative that has, or will emerge in the near future, to match the big parties and their advocacy for materialism.
Are there any plans for Green, Democrat and progressive independents to work together in parliament if more are elected?
There hasn't been much discussion on that except I've spoken with various members of other groups in the last 12 months or so, and it's natural and logical that cooperation must happen. We must work together as a cohesive unit to face the Labor/Liberal majority. Otherwise it will be the old case of "divide and rule".
So I think the diversity is good and I think there is maturity there and potential, with the new Green candidates, to bring some fire into the Senate by working together with the Democrats.
What about outside the parliament? Do you think an alliance such as the NZ Alliance could ever develop in Australia?
We had a go at that, in terms of getting together, 18 months ago and there was a vote against it, at the time, by the membership of the Democrats. But I think there will be a natural move in that direction as we go down the line.
Senator Coulter said that he perceived a feeling amongst the Democrats that a fusion with the Greens should be discussed again after the election, and he predicted another plebiscite. What is the feeling in the membership of the Greens?
There's always a discussion. I think it's going to take some time. It's a long-term thing because the priority with the Greens is going to be giving their new senators the backing and getting the continued interconnection with the community groups that they've come from working properly, before we look at the political structures that we're going to be building into in the next few years.
It's an idea that's got its merit and will come about if most people in the Greens and most people in the Democrats think it's a good idea.