By Frank Noakes
PERTH — The Greens (WA) were unable to discuss prospects for a national green party at their annual general meeting on August 1. Due to a long debate over the group's budget, the meeting went overtime and the booking on the hall expired.
In response to suggestions that the meeting could resume elsewhere, Senator Jo Vallentine insisted that the resumed meeting would not have the authority of the AGM and would not be in a position to issue instructions to delegates attending the August 17-18 national meeting in Sydney.
Vallentine added that the August meeting would not be a decision-making one, and that WA Greens would get a chance to discuss national green politics in September. The Greens (WA) will have 13 votes at the August meeting, but most will be probably be held by proxies, since financial reasons make it unlikely 13 delegates will be able to travel.
Subsequently, the Greens (WA) newsletter carried a report that the August meeting would vote on only one issue: that of proscribing other parties. The outcome of such a vote would appear to be a foregone conclusion, since the basis of attendance is acceptance of some form of proscription.
The day-long AGM followed a state conference at which Vallentine made it clear she regarded WA and Tasmanian green organisations as models for a national party. "Massive disillusionment with the major parties and with the greens' inability to organise themselves coherently at a state level with the exception of WA and Tasmania, has resulted in many greens joining the Democrats or opting out altogether", she said in a written address.
However, outgoing secretary Sue Hall's report to the AGM cast a rather different light on the organisational performance of the WA Greens. Hall reported that the group's membership has declined by more than 200 over the past year, that one branch had disintegrated and several others were in difficulties. She added that the party has 296 members, only 10% of whom are regularly involved in meetings.
The long debate on the budget concerned delegates' rights to put amendments, with centrally involved activists denying such a right existed because the budget working group is open to all members. Amendments were eventually put and defeated.
The AGM was overwhelmingly concerned with organisational rather than policy issues, and the state conference was mainly an
educational rather than policy-forming gathering. While the WA Greens have a sound general policy statement, issued for electoral purposes, some delegates commented that the group's policies are not widely known and the policy working group is usually poorly attended.