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In the fourth of our series on Women in Politics, we speak to Leader of the Greens, Senator Christine Milne.
Christine Milne, Senator for Tasmania and Leader of the Australian Greens, is one of Australia’s most experienced and respected environmental and community activists, with a career spanning 30 years. Undeniably, she has changed the face of Australia throughout her career as a passionate spokesperson for social justice and the environment. As she leads the Australian Greens into the 2013 election, Senator Milne has set her mind to leaving a legacy for all Australians who are passionate about a just and sustainable future.
“Over the years I’ve had a number of death threats. It is confronting but what it really does is challenge you as to why you are there.”
Growing up a country girl on her family’s dairy farm in Wesley Vale, located on Tasmania’s North Coast, Christine Milne has her roots firmly planted in the soil. She has a real appreciation of nature and its place in Australia’s economic future, thanks to the conversations she enjoyed with her father throughout her childhood.
“I’d been brought up on the farm at Wesley Vale so I traipsed around with dad as a little girl,” said Senator Milne. “When he would go down to get the cows in the morning we’d talk about the migratory birds on the lagoon, or the changing seasons, so I had a strong sense of nature as a young person.”
But it wasn’t until she went to university that Christine Milne became politically aware of what was happening with the environment.
“I was at the University of Tasmania when I became aware of the proposition to flood Lake Pedder,” she recalls. “A lot of my friends were involved in the campaign to stop the flooding and I was a supporter, but I wasn’t proactive. I thought ‘this doesn’t make sense, it won’t happen’, so when it did happen I made up my mind there and then that if anyone tried anything like that again I would become very involved.”
After graduating from the University of Tasmania with Honours in Australian history and a Certificate of Education in 1974, Senator Milne took up a teaching position in Burnie on the states’ North coast. She taught for four years before taking a year off to explore the world – travelling around Europe on a history trail that bought her face-to-face with the issues the global environment was facing.
“When I got to Europe I went to a lot of the places I had read about and learned about through my education. I wanted to go to Sherwood Forest, Heidi country, the Black Forest and so on. But when I got there I found that Sherwood Forest was no more and the Black Forest was dying from acid rain. I suddenly became aware that the environment was being seriously degraded around the world and that it was really an urgent matter.”
On her return to Australia, Christine Milne again took up her career as a teacher. Before long the idea of damning the Franklin River came up and she was spurred into action, joining the protest in the summer of 1982. In 1983, she was arrested for her involvement in the protest and spent three days in Risdon Women’s Prison.
“It was an incredibly important experience in my life because prior to that I think I had a pretty judgmental view about people who were in prison,” she said. “When I met the women at Risdon I saw that there was such a severe cycle of disadvantage – many of those women had been abused as children and had very little education – and those issues around poverty, domestic violence and disadvantage became real issues for me.”
“I also had the realisation that if the worst thing that can happen to you in a society like ours is to go to gaol for what you believe in, and you can survive it, then you are very empowered to keep on standing up for what you believe in.”
And that’s just what she did when the issue of the Wesley Vale pulp mill came up in 1988.
“The real thing about being a woman in politics is not only being there because we’re 50 per cent of the population and should have 50 per cent representation as a matter of course. It is to be there to advance the cause of women… so that those who come after us have better opportunities in life than we’ve had.”
“I formed a group with the local farmers and we became the campaign voice against the pulp mill,” says Senator Milne. “When the funding for the mill was withdrawn and the project fell over, the premier of the day called an election. I had no option but to run for parliament because the whole election was being fought on how to get the pulp mill back on track.”
“I never set out to be a politician and never thought about being a member of parliament. I was a teacher and I was a young mum so on a personal level it couldn’t have been a worse time in my life to be elected. But I really didn’t have an option in keeping faith with the campaign and the farmers I was representing.”
In 1989 Senator Milne was elected to Tasmanian Parliament as the independent member for Lyons. It was an election that left five Greens holding the balance of power in Tasmania’s lower house and led to the historic Labour-Green Accord, in which Milne played a key negotiating role. The outcome was a doubling of Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area and the introduction of freedom-of-information legislation.
By 1993 Senator Milne became the first woman to lead a political party in Tasmania. During the years 1996-98 the Greens again held the balance of power in a Liberal minority government, a partnership that produced a period of unprecedented social and economic reform – new gun laws, gay law reform, an apology to the Stolen Generation on the floor of parliament and a motion passed in support of Australia becoming a republic. All of this was negotiated by Milne.
Now sixty years of age, Senator Milne remains a strong advocate for both the environment and social justice. Her dogged determination and drive will see her finish the work she began on gay rights back in 1989 with a push from the Australian Greens to legalise gay marriage.
“Over the years I’ve had a number of death threats. It is confronting but what it really does is challenge you as to why you are there.”
“It’s very clear to me that I am in this job to make a significant difference. I’m not here to pass the time of day or for personal advancement. It would be way too high a price to pay in terms of what you have to give up and the stresses associated with the job. It is only worthwhile if you maintain a passion for change.”
With the election less than four weeks away, Senator Milne’s passion has been kicked into overdrive. Global warming, same-sex marriage, food security and a new, humane approach to asylum seekers are all at the top of her list.
“The real thing about being a woman in politics is not only being there because we’re 50 per cent of the population and should have 50 per cent representation as a matter of course. It is to be there to advance the cause of women… so that those who come after us have better opportunities in life than we’ve had.”
“If you want these outcomes for your children then you have a responsibility to stand up and fight for them.”
For more information visit the Australian Greens website: christine-milne.greensmps.org.au