Geoff Holloway
Sociologist, poet, author, ecocentric philosophy, social movements, tourism and Fado fan. Current research interests include: social cohesion, ecocentrism, Green politics, Nature's rights, transgender politics, sociology of tourism, Fado and tourism, the cultural aspects of child protection and domestic violence in Portugal.
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Papers by Geoff Holloway
There are some very special articles in this journal, including an article on the massive environmental destruction that has been caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began just over 1,000 days ago.
The UTG has a long record of opposing Russia’s threats to the sovereignty of Eastern European countries, going back to 1975 when Russia threatened to invade the Baltic states (see UTG Journal No. 6 for details1).
About 30% of Ukraine’s ecosystems have been severely damaged or completely destroyed, which is basically ecocide, plus destruction of at least 457 cultural heritage sites since 24 February 2022 according
to UNESCO2. This is apart from the biggest refugee crisis since the second World War with 6.5 million people ßeeing Ukraine since February 20223.
The second major article provides an analysis of the evolution of the green movement in Australia – a complex process that could be described as institutionalisation in the sociological sense. The ‘social forces’,
for want of a better word, are complex, which is why this article is 14 pages long with a great number of supporting graphs, tables and bar charts (14 in total).
The third major article was stimulated by the 2023 report of the Scanlon Foundation Research Institute on social cohesion, plus other data. Social cohesion in Australia in 2023 was the lowest it had been since the
Scanlon Foundation Research Institute had been conducting such annual surveys over 16 years. It is still
at that low point in 2024. Social cohesion is essential for addressing major environmental issues – without
it addressing issues such as the drastic reduction of biodiversity and reducing climate change simply will not happen – especially with increasing polarisation. The main reason why social cohesion is so important
is summed up neatly by Sandy Irvine, “Ecological sustainability requires a deep sense of communality, not just with each other but also other species”.
There are a number of other smaller articles, including anecdotes, that are scattered throughout the journal.
While UTG Journal No. 6 involved a complex compilation of the UTG’s policies, this journal, No. 10, has been much more challenging. To meet these challenges 10 independent reviews have been conducted on
articles where it has been seen to be appropriate. The reviewers were chosen not only on the basis of their
knowledge and expertise but also, in many cases, because they were likely to be very critical, especially for the second major article which is mentioned above.
Perhaps one of the key underlying themes of articles in this UTG Journal is the need to focus on cultural change, especially with respect to attitudes to natural and cultural heritage.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CROC) recognises the importance of diverting young offenders from the formal processes of the criminal justice system and sets out fundamental principles for the treatment to be accorded children in conflict with the law.
Tasmania’s Youth Justice Act 1997 (the Act) applies to young people aged 10 or more years old but less than 18 years at the time the offence the person has committed, or is suspected of having committed, occurred. The object of the Act is not merely to punish (or sanction) young offenders but also to ensure they receive appropriate treatment and rehabilitation. Accordingly, the Act provides for a variety of diversionary processes including police cautioning and community conferencing as well as for a range of minimal intervention court orders, such as community-based supervision orders.
The Act provides that a youth should be detained in custody for an offence only as a last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time.5 This provision reflects our obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Detention has adverse effects on young people’s employment outcomes, brings them into contact with other offenders and removes them from their families, education and communities. Conversely, non-custodial programs have been shown to be very effective in reducing juvenile recidivism.8 Detention should therefore be used sparingly and as a last resort.
It is recognised that for a small cohort of young people, detention may be necessary – particularly to ensure the community is afforded protection from illegal behaviour.
The ‘last resort’ principle can only operate to reduce detention rates where there is an effective package of alternatives to secure detention available to judicial officers.
There are some very special articles in this journal, including an article on the massive environmental destruction that has been caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began just over 1,000 days ago.
The UTG has a long record of opposing Russia’s threats to the sovereignty of Eastern European countries, going back to 1975 when Russia threatened to invade the Baltic states (see UTG Journal No. 6 for details1).
About 30% of Ukraine’s ecosystems have been severely damaged or completely destroyed, which is basically ecocide, plus destruction of at least 457 cultural heritage sites since 24 February 2022 according
to UNESCO2. This is apart from the biggest refugee crisis since the second World War with 6.5 million people ßeeing Ukraine since February 20223.
The second major article provides an analysis of the evolution of the green movement in Australia – a complex process that could be described as institutionalisation in the sociological sense. The ‘social forces’,
for want of a better word, are complex, which is why this article is 14 pages long with a great number of supporting graphs, tables and bar charts (14 in total).
The third major article was stimulated by the 2023 report of the Scanlon Foundation Research Institute on social cohesion, plus other data. Social cohesion in Australia in 2023 was the lowest it had been since the
Scanlon Foundation Research Institute had been conducting such annual surveys over 16 years. It is still
at that low point in 2024. Social cohesion is essential for addressing major environmental issues – without
it addressing issues such as the drastic reduction of biodiversity and reducing climate change simply will not happen – especially with increasing polarisation. The main reason why social cohesion is so important
is summed up neatly by Sandy Irvine, “Ecological sustainability requires a deep sense of communality, not just with each other but also other species”.
There are a number of other smaller articles, including anecdotes, that are scattered throughout the journal.
While UTG Journal No. 6 involved a complex compilation of the UTG’s policies, this journal, No. 10, has been much more challenging. To meet these challenges 10 independent reviews have been conducted on
articles where it has been seen to be appropriate. The reviewers were chosen not only on the basis of their
knowledge and expertise but also, in many cases, because they were likely to be very critical, especially for the second major article which is mentioned above.
Perhaps one of the key underlying themes of articles in this UTG Journal is the need to focus on cultural change, especially with respect to attitudes to natural and cultural heritage.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CROC) recognises the importance of diverting young offenders from the formal processes of the criminal justice system and sets out fundamental principles for the treatment to be accorded children in conflict with the law.
Tasmania’s Youth Justice Act 1997 (the Act) applies to young people aged 10 or more years old but less than 18 years at the time the offence the person has committed, or is suspected of having committed, occurred. The object of the Act is not merely to punish (or sanction) young offenders but also to ensure they receive appropriate treatment and rehabilitation. Accordingly, the Act provides for a variety of diversionary processes including police cautioning and community conferencing as well as for a range of minimal intervention court orders, such as community-based supervision orders.
The Act provides that a youth should be detained in custody for an offence only as a last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time.5 This provision reflects our obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Detention has adverse effects on young people’s employment outcomes, brings them into contact with other offenders and removes them from their families, education and communities. Conversely, non-custodial programs have been shown to be very effective in reducing juvenile recidivism.8 Detention should therefore be used sparingly and as a last resort.
It is recognised that for a small cohort of young people, detention may be necessary – particularly to ensure the community is afforded protection from illegal behaviour.
The ‘last resort’ principle can only operate to reduce detention rates where there is an effective package of alternatives to secure detention available to judicial officers.
As reported by the Ministry of Justice, the average age of victims of domestic violence are between 26 and 45 years of age, 91% of who are women. The perpetrator, mostly male (84% according to one 2018 report on National Security ), average 36 to 45 years of age and is usually spouse/partner of the victim. In 64% of cases the violence occurs continually and indoors.
The following graph shows the rates of women murdered (femicide) in Portugal and Spain over time. If the past fifteen years data is examined, i.e., 2003 – 2017, there were 500 deaths in Portugal and 1,000 in Spain – taking relative populations into account, 10.2 million versus 46.7 million respectively, Portugal has had a rate more than double that of Spain (if Spain had the same population as Portugal then the number of deaths in Spain would be 218 or less than half those of Portugal). Updated figures show that from 2004 – 2019 there were 534 femicides plus 614 attempted femicides .
A wide-ranging government sponsored inquiry is needed urgently. The initial proposal to undertake this compilation elicited 500 pages of Australian articles and submissions from a range of individuals and groups. This compilation includes a representative selection of those articles and submissions.
Since that time, there has been an astonishing explosion of concern not just in Australia but also in other Western countries with respect to gender dysphoria and transgenderism, especially in terms of medical interventions that lack supporting scientific evidence.
In the attached submission I have examined a chronology of key events over the past three months in order to demonstrate the necessity for a Royal Commission into what can only be described as a massive medical experiment with very questionable adherence to medical ethics.
I trust that the Federal Government will see fit to examine the issues raised in the various submissions and articles identified in the attached document. I believe that a rigorous, evidence-based examination of these issues can only be undertaken through a Royal Commission into Gender Dysphoria and Transgenderism.
Editorial 1
The silent casualty: environmental consequences of the war in Ukraine
- Svitlana Iievlieva & Nataliya Poshyvaylo-Towler 2
The evolution of a green movement – Geoff Holloway 13
Anecdote No. 1 – UTG’s Hansard campaign 27
Anecdote No. 2 – overtures by the Australian Democrats 27
Declining social cohesion in Australia – Geoff Holloway & Saul Latham 28
UTG correspondence with the Values Party of New Zealand – Geoff Holloway 39
David Brower’s visit to Tasmania – Geoff Holloway with Ken Brower 41
Interview with two key UTG activists: Jock Barclay & Lyn Barclay 44
Dr. Richard (Dick) Jones – a brief biography 46
Anecdote No. 3 – Support for Steady State Economics in Australia 48
UTG’s Packaging Experiment – Geoff Holloway 49
Anecdote No. 4 – ‘We told you so’ 51
Fighting back for the Earth – Sandy Irvine (reproduced from The Ecological Citizen) 52
Anecdote No. 5 – the story behind a cartoon 54
Anecdote No. 6 – the failure of the UTG 1975 Senate campaign 54
Anecdote No. 7 – UTG’s financial records 55
Brief bios 56
Lake Pedder - poem by Bruce Davis (1955) inside back cover
Front cover design: Anna Mykhalchuk
Back cover images: Christopher Cowles
Editor: Geoff Holloway Email: [email protected]
Printer: Monotone Art Printers, Hobart
UTG’s Facebook & publication sites:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/112926085386109/ (main UTG site)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1154609787956205 (UTG: Ecocentrism, Biodiversity & Wilderness)
All previous UTG publications (since 2016) can be downloaded from here:
https://independent.academia.edu/HollowayGeoff/United-Tasmania-Group
Acknowledgements:
With special thanks to the following people, for Anna Mykhalchuk for the front cover design, and
Christopher Cowles for the back cover images, and for the authors and other contributors (in
alphabetical order): Jock Barclay, Lyn Barclay, Kenneth Brower, Kate Crowley, Charles Duffill, Tor
Hundloe, Sandy Irvine, Stewart Jackson, Kirsten Jones, Patsy Jones, Saul Latham, Svitlana lievlieva,
Geoff Mosley, Nataliya Poshyvaylo-Towler, the Scanlon Foundation Research Institute (Anthea
Hancocks), and Kelvin Smith. Where appropriate articles have been independently reviewed (by 10
reviewers in total). As per academic convention the reviewers will not be named.
1) Editorial
2) On the outside looking in at the United Tasmania Group - Judith Wright
3) Party structure, governance & democratic participation within UTG
– Geoff Holloway
4) Weaponising climate change – Kevin Kiernan
5) Entropy & Steady State Economics – Geoff Holloway
6) Freedom and Pain in the Heart of the Flyway – Saul Latham
7) Jaffles – UNESCO Intangible World Heritage nomination? – Geoff Holloway
8) Creating Tasmania’s Reserve System and the People who made it Happen:
the example of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area Reserves.
– Ann McConnell, Kevin Kiernan & Debbie Quarmby
9) Ode to an ornithologist and a godwit – poem by Alan Milne
10) Map of South West Tasmania prior to 1955
Editor: Geoff Holloway Contact: [email protected]
Editorial
The campaign to save the Centre for Environmental Studies & its legacy
The East Asian - Australasian Dream
Research Note: the conservation movement in Tasmania as a series of ‘streams’
Social systems versus Ecosystems (part one)
The United Tasmania Group (UTG) is globally recognised as the first ‘green’ values political party, formed by outraged community members in 1972 to counter the environmental and social injustice that was the flooding of Lake Pedder. Dr Geoff Holloway has been an activist within the UTG for years. This episode discusses the UTG, various Lake Pedder action groups, ecocentrism, tourism and of course, Lake Pedder 🌿
Listen here now or on Spotify 👉🏽 https://pedderunplugged.buzzsprout.com
• ‘Ecotourism’ – the new greenwash term -
• Editorial – Protest rally against proposed cable car on kunanyi
• People Power
• Legacy and understanding
The first article provides an extensive account of ‘ecotourism’ and the impact of the use of the term across Tasmania.
There have been serious attempts to define, and establish standards for, ecotourism. For example, The International ecotourism Society (TIES) has at least five key principles at the base of its definition of ecotourism, namely that it:
• is non-consumptive and non-extractive
• creates an ecological conscience
• holds ecocentric values and ethics in relation to nature
• is based on community involvement and consultation
• recognises the rights and spiritual beliefs of the Indigenous people.
In Tasmania the word ‘ecotourism’ is being used as a greenwash term in order to facilitate the privatisation of Tasmania’s National Parks (eg, Three Capes Track, Cradle Mountain, Lake Malbena, Lake Geeves, the South Coast and Frenchman’s Cap). The Three Capes Track was the first cab off the rank; now it is being used as a model in both Tasmania and mainland States to put private and government-funded infrastructure inside World Heritage National Parks and privatise the exploitation of these areas. The rush has begun . . . and all of this is being conducted behind closed doors with no public consultation or involvement - which contravenes at least Article 3, sections 4 & 5 of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, adopted by UN in 2001 (United Nations & UN World Tourism Organisation). Tasmania is also in breach of other Ethics in this Code.
This onslaught of attacks on the wilderness integrity of Tasmania´s National Parks and World Heritage Wilderness Areas is more insidious than forestry ever was.
In the attached UTG Journal there are articles on the following:
- Community participation in tourism
- Nutrition, diet quality and health outcomes
- Ecocentrism
- The Nordic model for addressing sex trafficking and prostitution
- Report on UTG Inquiry into the bushfires of 2018-19
- Statement of commitment to ecocentrism.
It is sometimes said that the Tasmanian Greens evolved out of UTG. However, that is not entirely accurate, if not misleading, for four main reasons. First, very few UTG members went on to participate in the Green Independents (1989), who later became the Tasmanian Greens. The second reason is that UTG’s philosophy is based on ecocentrism - by contrast, the Greens are anthropocentric. The third reason is that UTG’s policies are very different from those of the present Greens – as is demonstrated across its extensive policies reproduced here. The fourth reason is UTG’s foundational document called ‘A New Ethic’, which is a set of ethical principles, something much lacking in today’s politics. Errata: Page 3, UTG State Conference was in 1975 (not 1976); page 5, the last UTG election campaign was 1977 (not 1997). CORRECTIONS: PAGE 3 - The UTG State Conference was 1975, not 1976; PAGE 5 - the last UTG election campaign was 1977; PAGE 125 - there were 20 UTG branches, not 17.
The placement of social movements exclusively in the domain of
'unconventional' politics ignores their 'conventional' aspects and
reinforces the ideological stereotypes that devalue social movements as
'abnormal'. On the other hand, treating social movements as a mere
extension of 'conventional' politics tends to ignore the semiinstitutional
nature of some social movements bodies. A discussion of
these theoretical and ideological issues in Chapters One and Two opens
the way for an empirical examination of social movement bodies in
Chapters Four to Six.
Empirical analysis of organisations and groups forming the
wilderness conservation and the anti-nuclear movements in Australia
reveals their multi-modal structure and operation. Both movements
include formalised organisations, which operate in 'conventional'
ways (Institutional Mode) similiar to other interest and lobby groups,
as well as movement bodies that are 'unconventional' in their
structure and operation. The latter include two types analysed, under
the labels 'Social Movement Mode' and the 'New Mode'. The
characteristics of these three modes are investigated using a survey of
330 movement bodies (formal and semi-formal). Cluster analysis of the
organisational characteristics reveals both the three-modal structure of
the movements and some interesting differences between the
wilderness conservation and the anti-nuclear movements.