October 20, 2014

Brown talks green issues at free public event

Environmentalist and former politician Bob Brown will give a free public lecture at UOW on Thursday 23 October.

The former Senator and Parliamentary Leader of the Australian Greens will visit UOW this week as part of the Faculty of Business’ annual economic and social policy public lecture series.

His free public lecture, titled ‘Why is planet Earth not on the radar?’, will discuss why, with the Earth warming, record rates of extinction, population heading for 10 billion and resource consumption soaring on our finite planet, 90 per cent of Australians voted in 2013 for six mega coal ports to be built inside the Great Barrier Reef.

Bob Brown was born and educated in rural NSW and worked as a doctor before becoming the face of the campaign to save the Franklin River in 1982.

He was elected to the Tasmanian state parliament in 1982 and during his ten-year tenure most notably achieved gun-law reform, gay-law reform and the expansion of the Tasmanian World Heritage Area.

In 1996 Mr Brown was elected to the Senate, where he led the national debate for 16 years on issues including climate change, water, preventative healthcare, conservation and human rights.

Mr Brown resigned from the Senate in June 2012 to establish the Bob Brown Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to supporting environmental campaigns and green causes in Australia and our region.

In 2014, he released a new book ‘Optimism’, which illustrates through his stories why he remains optimistic about the future.

Planet Earth: Why is it not on the radar?
Thursday, 23 October | 6-8pm
Building 67 Foyer and Room 67.104 | UOW
Canapés and drinks will be provided.
RSVP.