Launch of the Australian Environment Foundation05, June 2005
BY KERSEN GENTLE, AEF SPOKESPERSON It is a pleasure to be here in Tenterfield, the home of Federation, on World Environment Day to launch Australia’s newest environment organization, the Australian Environment Foundation. I attended the inaugural Eureka Forum in Ballarat on the 3rd December, 2004 on the 150th Anniversary of another historic turning point in Australia’s history, the Eureka Stockade. I went to this forum along with bush walkers, scientists, farmers, cattlemen, timber workers and other everyday Australians from every Australian State to discuss what it meant to be a real environmentalist who genuinely cares about the environment. We all shared a feeling of frustration with how current political decision making is driven by blind naïve ideology masquerading as science. Too often the resulting government policies bog us all down, they can destroy viable industries and their dependent communities while delivering NO environmental benefit. In fact there are many examples where this blind campaigning has resulted in environmental harm. I am the Victorian State Manager of Timber Communities Australia, but foremost I am a mother of 3 young children who cares deeply about the environment and wanted to find out how I could make a difference and have my say in the development of future policies that affect not only the Australian environment but also Australian communities. Delegates of the Eureka Forum appointed a committee to progress the idea of a different type of environmental organization. An evidence-based, solution focused organization that cares about rural and regional Australia. I was given the honor of being appointed to this group and for the past 6 months we have worked together, holding lots of teleconferences due to the fact that we are from different states, and being both metropolitan and country based. It is significant that we are launching the Australian Environment Foundation (AEF) in Tenterfield given your history as being the home of Federation where Sir Henry Parkes laid the foundations for future generations to work together for a united Australia at this very building. This is the way AEF sees the future, a future that brings together all Australians to ensure a healthier environment for now and future generations. In the past six months we have come a long way. We have 97 Foundation Members from those who attended the Eureka Forum. We have a constitution and are a registered company, we have a website, which I will discuss later and here we are today on World Environment day officially launching our not-for-profit, membership-based environment foundation. To develop the constitution we needed to decide what our core values would be, based on the concerns raised at the Eureka Forum. We have developed 6 key values that do underpin the AEF and everything it represents. These six values are; Evidence – policies are set and decisions are made on the basis of facts, evidence and scientific evaluation; Choice – issues are prioritized on the basis of accurate risk assessment and analyzing cost-benefits. Technology – appropriate and innovative technological solutions are implemented. Management – active management is used when necessary, acknowledging that landscapes and ecosystems are dynamic Diversity – biological diversity is maintained; and People – the needs and aspirations of people are balanced with (weighed in parallel with) environmental issues. Given our focus on evidence and science, Dr Peter Ridd a researcher from James Cook University has come on board as a Science Coordinator. He believes that some environmental campaigns run by environmental organizations and some decisions made by government lack sound scientific backing which potentially leads to misplaced priorities for environmental funding and legislation. I personally have witnessed the unnecessary hardship this type of misinformation has caused small regional communities. These principals have underpinned the work of scientist Dr. Jennifer Marohasy. Jennifer’s work is well known for exposing the misinformation campaigns run by naïve environmentalists on the Murray River and the Great Barrier Reef. Dr Marohasy always works diligently from a basis of evidence with the courage to let the facts show the way, including how our environment might be best managed. We encourage different points of view and we seek all the information. We acknowledge the importance of active management. We know from experience and scientific research that sustainable resource use is often compatible with environmental protection. Indeed I understand that some of the most biologically diverse forests in your state are those with a history of multiple use. We believe in facts and evidence. From this will we not shy away. But at the same time we believe in people. Their needs and aspirations need to be balanced (weighed in parallel) with environmental issues. In short this is what makes the AEF a different environmental foundation, one that takes an evidence-based and solution focused approach to environmental issues. We have identified several campaigns. Our first campaign is ‘Environmental Education and our Children’. As I mentioned earlier, I am a mother of 3 young children and this campaign relates back to why I attended the Eureka Forum back in December 2004, and why I am here today. As a mother I want to feel confident that science underpins environmental education not only at my children’s school but all schools nationally. When my children come home and tell me what they have learnt about the environment, including how unsustainable Australian forest practices, I wonder if they are being taught from a curriculum containing misinformation and value judgment rather than the facts of the matter. The AEF with the help of its truth-seeking experts will evaluate what is being taught when it comes to environmental science in Australian schools. We want to know whether it is ideologically driven or science based. This will be our first campaign titled ‘Environmental Education and Our Children’. Other campaigns include ensuring that existing National Parks and Reserves are managed properly, and the control of feral animals and weeds. I mentioned earlier our website which can be accessed at website address: www.aefweb.info. The website explains our six core values, provides information about our team and will be a hub of information – our Australian-wide office. It will be constantly updated. When you log onto the website be sure to subscribe so we can keep you informed of our activities through our electronic newsletter. Tenterfield is a fitting place for our gathering today, being known as the ‘Birthplace of our Nation’. The Tenterfield School of Arts is the site where Sir Henry Parkes presented his vision of a united Australia in his famous Federation Speech which led to the federation of all Australian States into the Commonwealth of Australia. The Australian Environment Foundation has a vision of Australians united in caring for the Australian environment working from the basis of evidence, always being solution focused, and always valuing honest debate and discussion. On this grand occasion, in your presence, I now officially launch The Australian Environment Foundation. Thank you.
|
