The following letter, dated May 24, was sent by the Green Alliance of South Australia to the conveners of the proposed meeting to form a national green party.
The Green Alliance (South Australia) is interested in current moves towards forming a national green party. However we are worried that the current initiatives come apparently from a small number of "prominent green personalities", implying a centralised and hierarchical structure, lacking the grassroots support needed for effective integration of environmental issues into the political arena.
As you will be aware, the Green Alliance (SA) was formed, following a public meeting, to contest the 1990 federal election. In spite of the very short notice, we managed to attract considerable broad-based support on the basis of democratically formulated Green policies. We then fielded three candidates for the Senate and one for the House of Representatives.
Since the election the Green Alliance has organised public debates, meetings and social events. The Alliance has state registration in South Australia, and intends to field candidates in the next state elections. members have also participated as representatives of the Alliance in national conferences and consultations.
A successful national green party can best be created by building on green groups with a track record in local and regional activism and political action. decisions as to its structure and policies should be made as the result of wide consultation. A basic tenet of the green movement is commitment to diversity, inclusiveness, broad participation and non-hierarchical structures. We feel that in the formation of a national green party these principles should not be compromised in the interests of expediency.
So we are concerned not only that the South Australian Green Alliance has not been consulted about the proposed party, but that decisions are being made which appear to exclude a number of specifically "green" and other related groups from active participation. This will limit the effectiveness of the party, not only in terms of grassroots support, but in the eyes of the still-to-be-convinced public, who will see it as "just another party".
We therefore expect to be consulted about any further developments so that we can participate in the formation of a national green party. We are circulating copies of this letter to other interested groups.