Environment before people, says Wilderness Society

The misanthropic attitude of conservationists was revealed last week when a group of Aboriginal protestors from Cape York gate-crashed a Wilderness Society and green fundraiser in Sydney.

Dressed in chains and in two giant koala suits, the Cape York Aborigines crashed the party to protest against Queensland’s Wild Rivers legislation, which bans development within two kilometres of the Lockhart, Stewart and Archer rivers.

The protestors blame the Wilderness Society for instigating the legislation, which they argue denies them the ability to build businesses and enterprises on their traditional land—so that more of their people can move out of welfare into the real economy. Tania Major, the spokesperson for the Cape York Aborigines, said they weren’t against conservation but they were protesting because the Wilderness Society had not consulted with them or given them a choice on how to manage their land.

These arguments left the Wilderness Society members unmoved, with spokesperson Anna Christie saying on ABC Radio that environmental sustainability should come before people.

Only those comfortably off are able to so quickly disregard the importance of economic development. They forget that the only reason they can afford to buy organic food is because they live in an industrialised society. Try living in the outback and getting an organic soy latte.

The fact that the greenies and the Aborigines have fallen out over this issue is a first. Historically, the green movement has tended to support what they think are Aboriginal ‘causes’. Protesting against the Intervention and the Howard government was a trendy pastime for many greenies.

In fact, originally the Wilderness Society and Noel Pearson from Cape York were allies. They and other key stakeholders from the area formed a partnership in 1996 (called the Cape York Heads of Agreement). This partnership aimed to achieve a balance between competing interests in the Cape York region. Not only were they committed to carrying out conservation protection, but one of the principles of the agreement was to set aside land for Aboriginal development.

Noel admits that there was some ‘consultation’ with Aboriginal people in the Cape York region, but that their concerns were not listened to – and that they in no way consented to a total ban on development alongside the rivers.

In an interview on ABC TV’s Lateline, Noel Pearson pointed out the double standards of the Wild Rivers Legislation. While Aboriginal development (such as small-scale horticulture) is banned beside the rivers, the new Chinalco bauxite mine is exempt from the whole Wild Rivers legislation.

Not only is this hypocritical of the Queensland government but the decision to ban Aboriginal development also goes against a UN Convention for Biological Diversity, which Australian signed up to in 1992. The Convention recognises that biological diversity is more than just plants and animals – it is also about people. Two Articles of the Convention refer specifically to the protection of Indigenous knowledge and use of resources.

Yet it appears that many greenies care more about the environment than people. American author Jonah Goldberg describes this phenomenon as ‘Green Fascism.’ He argues that modern environmentalists view humans as a disease and man-kind as “inauthentic, corrupting, and unnatural.”

According to Goldberg, environmentalists cast themselves in the role of nurturing caregivers of the planet. The world has a ‘fever’ and like when your baby has a fever, you ‘take action’. “You do whatever your doctor says. No time to debate, no room for argument….”

Like all fanatics who believe that their way is the only right way of doing something, the Wilderness Society are convinced they have all the answers to environmental sustainability. They have forgotten the terms of the agreement which they originally had with the Cape York Aborigines and ignore the fact that the rivers near Cape York are pristine because they've been part of Aboriginal reserves for nearly a hundred years.

In their haste to preserve the environment the green movement has sidelined human progress. Today, advocating for growth or new developments is seen as a social faux pas. So strong is their anti-human agenda that some environmentalists are opting for voluntary sterilisation to reduce their carbon footprint. 

The green way of looking at sustainable development is typical of the affluent world that sees sustainability as being environmentally friendly—recycling, living in eco houses, and driving fuel-efficient cars. But for the poor and disadvantaged, sustainability is about having essential services such as housing, water, sewerage, and transport.

It is deeply hypocritical for the green movement to deny Aboriginal development on the premise that this will preserve the environment when they owe their own comfortable existence to Australia’s developed economy.

Sara Hudson is a Policy Analyst with the Indigenous Affairs Research Program at The Centre for Independent Studies.