|
Nevertheless, some Club members continue to contribute as individuals.
Geoff Law emigrated to Tasmania to make a career with the Wilderness
Society; others work directly with local conservation groups. Sometimes a
collective effort is required for instance, when a letter-writing campaign
is mounted on a topical issue (highly effective with politicians, but
difficult to get members to actually participate). More visible are the
organised street-marches and/or large gatherings with guest speakers.
Such `demos' can be highly effective, and while they are generally
accepted these days, they caused quite a commotion when they were first
introduced. Even in 1978 they were somewhat novel, as at the street march
in support of an alpine national park on Friday 9 May 1978, which drew
many `respectable citizens', MBW members included. Most of these walkers
had never been in a public rally before in their lives. Arthur Francis
mentioned to one of his colleagues that he was about to take part in the
Bourke Street march to protest against the Land Conservation Council's
recommendations. `So you're one of those PINKO GREENIES are you?' was the
good-natured reply. Arthur was surprised though pleased to be so
classified.
A tortuous battle-royal between President
Graham Wills-Johnson and Gerry McPhee occurred in 1978, each observing
strict protocol. In effect, the row was over a point of order, for Gerry
wanted to include the ALP's policy on the Alpine National Park in the
News, June, for discussion. No, said Graham; that brings the Club into the
arena of party politics. If you want to do that, you have to change the
constitution.
The first constitutional amendment proposed
by Gerry at the June 28 General Meeting was rejected by Graham as
unconstitutional. Gerry disagreed; Graham offered to resign, and Gerry
withdrew the motion. However, discussions continued and a revised motion
was put to the half-yearly General Meeting on 27 September 1978 that `this
meeting recognises that the conservation policies of parliamentarians and
government bodies are a fit subject for discussion in the News, provided
that these views are clearly identified as being the personal views of a
member and not those of the Club' was passed by a large majority. Gerry McPhee did much to further the cause of conservation within the Club in
close association with the FWVC.
The moral of this story is that, with rare
exceptions, it has been ordinary folks like us bushwalkers, artists,
writers and others who love these wild places who have got together to
fight for their preservation, rather than the professional politicians and
bureaucrats whom we pay supposedly to safeguard our interests. |
Page
149 |
