fuzion

Well it has been a long, long break. Here is a micro-summary of the last few months.

Things ground to a halt as a result of an awesome opportunity to jump the Tasman last September and work on the communications strategy for the Australian Greens’ election campaign. Hard work but really glad I went. Big ups to all those people who made me so welcome. Thank you.

Particular highlights were breaking in to the media ‘cone of silence’ around the Greens in the Rudd v Howard stories. We did this by taking a somewhat in-your-face approach to being closed out of the leaders’ debates. Not something we have had to worry about in MMP New Zealand. Anyhow the decision to run our own leaders’ debate in the same venue with a public audience did get us in to the main stories. Thanks to Bob Brown for believing in the possibilities on that one.

Streaming events proved that even the best technology can fail - thanks goodness for YouTube! And some good lessons were learnt in co-opting facebook ads - talk about quick feedback on creatives!

There was an awesome team to work with, and in particular I have to take my hat off to Mia (you’re awesome!) - you made me so welcome. Also in Canberra, of course, Roland, Bill and Kerrie T. What a great team and a great place. And my hosts. How did you put up with me so long? Thank you so much Jack and Deb.

Max, Lesa, Jon and the rest of the NSW crew - thanks for your persistence, creativity and passion. The Vic Greens with whom I got to spend some good times! On ya! Chris D (who really does look like Beethoven!), Alison, Dinesh, Ian, … and Lily.

The West Aus team also rocked. Alison X (see you in Parliament soon I hope), Rachel and Rachel, and Tim. Shame the SouthPark viral didn’t get out earlier. It was great. (Where is it?)
To the teams in the other states, it was hard yakker but you really all did such an awesome job. The SA and QLD teams really pulled some rabbits out of the hat!

Of course the campaign wouldn’t have been the same without the efforts of the ad agency; hats off to Ben, Rod, Stuart, Sam and the rest of the team at Cyclone. Being able to take up residence in your offices was a breakthrough. Hard work on all of us but we got through it.

And last, but definitely not least, the Senators and the Lead Candidates. Kerry, thanks for dragging me in to this. Sorry you’re looking for a new job but the world is your organic, fair-traded oyster. Sarah and Scott, look forward to seeing you up at the capital. Larissa and Richard, next time maybe - there is always a next time.

communications, politics

Very interesting article by Peter Madden, chief executive of Forum for the Future in Gristmill. He asks whether the green narrative focuses too much on doom and gloom.

Recently in my organization, senior staff were sharing the first five minutes of the presentations we give externally, the bit where we explain sustainable development, climate change, and so on to a skeptical audience. The idea was to compare notes on our best presentation techniques. But guess what? We all started off on the negatives. We opened with different variants of “We’re in real trouble, guys.” We then mostly had some graphs, facts, and predictions showing how “we are going to be in even more trouble soon.” Sounds familiar?

He goes on to say

Of course we still need to scare people a bit, to grab the attention. But we risk paralyzing and de-motivating people if that is all we dwell on. When greens do paint visions of the future, they are often utopian, hippie, bucolic, and frankly unbelievable. They either seem to think that everyone will live in some variation of rural France, on a small-holding complete with small vineyard, goat, and squeaky bicycle.

This is a refrain that others have made but I take my hat off to Mike Ward on his campaign site for the Nelson mayoralty for succinctness.

If we can’t have at least as much fun saving the planet as we are having destroying it we just aren’t doing it right.

Good luck on the campaign Mike - hope I can make it over for the celebrations! Mike . . . . . Yes!

communications, politics

Interesting interview as always with Rod Oram on Sunday (18 min 68.6MB mp3) where he mentioned Wolfgang Sach’s idea that the world is now divided between those who believe accept there are ecological limits and those who don’t. Guess I think there is probably a three way split (at least).

• those who believe in limits and accept the need to make some changes
• those who believe in them but expect to go on with business as usual
• those who don’t believe in them.

greenbiz, ideas & innovation, politics

After a month in his new role, Ireland’s Green Party leader and Environment Minister, John Gormley, has outlined his priorities when he unveiled his department’s plans.
These include reforming waste management, moving Ireland away from its reliance on incineration and towards reduction and more recycling. The Environmental Protection Agency would be reviewed to ensure it had the tools it needed to do the job. Penalties for environmental crimes and enforcement of regulations wold also be considered.

politics

An earlier posting commented on the importance of preferencing for the Greens in the upcoming Aus election. In this article by Bob Brown, Aus Greens leader, he talks about the reverse situation - which of the major parties the Greens will recommend to green voters to preference.

Bob makes the position quite clear - voters have barely any choice between Rudd and Howard; over the handling of the Haneef case, over the declaration of marshal law in indigenous communities, the continued growth of coalmining and exports, even the extension of logging and burning of Tasmania’s grand forests.

Here is the Australian Greens’ dilemma: the choice between Labor and the Coalition is becoming more like choosing between fawn and beige.A change of government will be good for Australia, but Rudd is making it harder to recommend Greens voters preference Labor.

So in the case of the marginal Tasmanian seats of Bass and Braddon the Greens are set to issue open tickets, leaving voters to choose for themselves between Labor and the Coalition.

Brown then articulates what the Greens have to offer the voters; the Greens would increasing the pension by $60 a fortnight rather than $10billion in tax cuts for the rich, investment in schools in need rather than more public money on wealthy private schools, better and cheaper public transport rather than more road building, and investment in clean, renewable energy instead of expanding uranium mining.

So a strong vote for the Greens could give them the balance of power in the Senate, at which point the scaremongering will begin in earnest. But as Brown explains,

the Greens have a history of using the balance of power wisely at state and federal levels. The Tasmanian Greens have worked constructively with Labor and Liberal governments. For example, faced with Tasmanian Liberal premier Robin Gray’s $100million budget deficit in 1989-92, we backed tough Labor budgets, which set a strong foundation for Tasmania’s fiscal health in 2007.

The Coalition often claims that if anyone else is in power, the economy will grind to a halt. However, the West Australian economy has been growing faster than that of any other state, and the Greens have held the balance of power in Western Australia’s upper house since 2001. The Greens also hold or share the balance of power in the upper house in South Australia, Victoria and NSW.

politics

At last the Greens in England stand a decent chance of getting their first ever Green MP. Caroline Lucas has been selected to stand in Brighton Pavilion, the seat which last election Keith Taylor got the highest Green vote (22%). And with the incumbent retiring this is about the best situation they could find. Good luck Caroline. This is the smartest move yet IMHO. Roll on 2010 (or earlier if Brown goes for a quickie). Maybe I’ll have to go back to my roots and see what can be done to help get her elected.

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politics

I’m watching the upcoming Aussie election with great interest. Partly it is a mirror image, to some extent, of what is happening in NZ. An enduring Government under challenge by a new ’sexy’ leader of the Opposition (though I would have to say that Keys has the running over Rudd in terms of media presence!). And, the Greens have the potential of ending up with a share of the balance of power if the Senate swings towards Labor as is expected. Furthermore, if the Greens can pick up one extra Senate seat, then they reach the magic number of five and gain the status of a ‘party’ at Parliament, with the benefit of additional resources.
Of course the issue of preferencing is pivotal in Aus - so what Labor decides is critical. Some unions are putting Labour under pressure as the Greens are Labor’s strongest ally in terms of getting rid of WorkChoice. According to the Australian

A number of national union secretaries and state labour council
leaders are urging the ALP to lock in a formal election deal. They
argue a deal with the Greens will give Labor its best chance of
securing a “friendly” Senate if Kevin Rudd wins office. But the federal Opposition Leader and his senior team are resisting
a deal, amid concerns it could expose Labor to a government scare
campaign over its climate change policies.

Preferencing deals are often not finalised till the last few days but perhaps some of NZ Labour’s strategists could have a quiet word in the ear of the trans-Tasman counterparts and let them know that working with the Greens is quite do-able.

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politics

Love them or hate them, politicians have a critical role in taking us towards sustainability. Grist have produced their list of 15 top Green Politicians - but to qualify you had to be an elected rep by the looks of it. So there are some big names missing, in my opinion, including the likes of one of my heroes, Jonathon Porritt in the UK, who left the Green Party, largely out of frustration with the political system, and has ended up as Sustainable Development Commissioner. Good call Jonathon!

Here’s Grist’s top 10.

1. Arnold Schwarzenegger - the ‘Governator’ of California. What a great actor.
2. Wangari Maathai - founder of the Green Belt Movement, member of the Kenyan Parliament and 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner. A truly awesome leader.
3. Ken Livingstone - left-wing London mayor known as “Red Ken”, aiming to make his city the greenest in the world. Came from the political ashes after meltdown with Labour.
4. Helen Clark - prime minister of New Zealand, has pledged to make Kiwiland the first carbon-neutral country. Will deserve this rating if she delivers!
5. Marina Silva - Brazil’s environment minister and an avid protector of the Amazon.
6. David Cameron - British Conservative Party leader - nuff said. Less substance than our John Key surely.
7. Peter Garrett - Midnight Oil frontman and Aussie Labour MP and maybe next Minister of the Environment. Let’s hope he finds his voice again if he does.
8. Greg Nickels - Mayor of Seattle.
9. Margot Wallström - Former environment minister of the European Union and current vice president of the European Commission.
10. Stephane Dion - leader of the Canadian Liberal Party.

Bob Brown made it in to the runners’ up. Yay Bob! Awesome Australian senator, the leader and co-founder of the Aussie Green Party.
Grist welcome your comments.

politics