Congratulations to Luke Foley on his elevation to the leadership of the parliamentary Labor Party in NSW. It is exciting that Mr Foley has retained the environment portfolio, which we hope signals his intention to give environmental issues the attention they deserve. It is interesting to read the address Mr Foley made at our annual conference soon after he entered parliament, which outlines his commitment to environmental protection and his opposition to the commodification of nature. Here is an extract. To read his whole address, click on the link. I believe to be true what Hungarian social democrat Karl Polanyi said in 1945: To allow the market mechanism to be the sole director of the fate of human beings and their natural environment would result in the demolition of society. I see the environment movement today engaged in the same struggle against market fundamentalism that the labour movement embarked on following the Industrial Revolution. If you look at the history of the labour movement, there is an ethical tradition … that has always rejected the commodification of all aspects of our lives, and struggled for a sense of security and the protection of communities. That tradition has sought to conserve what is valuable and meaningful, in the face of relentless commodification. The environment movement seeks to conserve the natural world from the rapaciousness of unfettered market forces – because the natural world is valuable and meaningful. There is a moral seriousness at the heart of both the environment movement and the ethical tradition inside the labour movement, a moral seriousness that is at odds with today’s celebrity-drenched culture. I believe in an ethical and ecologically sustainable economy and society, for the common good. Inspiring words. Lets hope Mr Foley can put the environment at the heart of political discourse in NSW, where it belongs.
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 23:32:14 +0000
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