Thirty Years of Creative Resistance - Friends of the Earth Australia

An even more radical perspective was
outlined by activists from FoE Canberra
in a paper from 1984 entitled, ‘A Strategy
Against Nuclear Power’ which described
the need for a strategy which specifically
sought profound change in society rather
than just short term campaign goals.
“The goal of stopping uranium mining
must be closely linked to the goal of
basic structural change in the state,
capitalism, patriarchy and the division
of labour … the broader objectives
for an anti-nuclear movement must
include mass participation in decision
making rather than elite control,
decentralising the distribution of
political power into smaller, local
groups, and bringing about self
reliance based on environmentally
sound technologies.”
Today, FoE Sydney uses the phrase
“campaigning on environmental issues
in their social, political and human rights
context” to describe its work and FoE’s
broad world-view. Some other local groups
and the wider national network have
adopted the terms ‘social ecology’ and
‘environmental justice’ to define FoE’s
political orientation. These terminologies
reflect the types of issues that FoE works
on, as well as the ways it works.
FoE believes that this understanding has
become imperative in the early twentyfirst
century as the dominant economic
and political systems continue to set
working people against those working for
environmental protection, and internalises
profits while externalising the social and
environmental costs of economic activity.
FoE has always been well known for its
strong political perspectives. These
have often meant that it has adopted
campaigns not taken up by other green
groups. For example, following the election
of the Howard Coalition government in
1996, FoE ran a campaign opposing the
privatisation of Telstra and spoke out on
the blackmail inherent in linking funding
of an essential portfolio (in this instance
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Old growth Blue Gum growing in Flynns Creek
catchment, Strezlecki Ranges, Victoria
the environment) with the partial sale of
a public asset (Telstra). FoEA lost its long
standing federal funding shortly after this.
FoE has managed to remain on the cutting
edge of emerging themes; often identifying
and acting on issues before they become
mainstream. For instance, FoE began
working on the health and ecological
impacts of herbicide use in timber
plantations at a time when most other
green groups were uncritically advocating
for plantations as a solution to the problem
of native forest logging.
During the Balkans war of 1995, FoE
highlighted the dangers posed by the use
of depleted uranium weapons by the allied
forces of the USA and Britain. In more
recent years, it has started to lobby for
the need for Australia to recognise climate
refugees, those people who are being
forced to leave their homes because of
human induced climate change.
FoE has worked closely with many
Indigenous communities over the last three
FoE 30 Years 3