64 AWW.COM.AU AUGUST 2017
THIS PAGE: PHOTOGRAPH SUPPLIED BY BOB BROWN AND USED WITH PERMISSION. OPPOSITE: PHOTOGRAPHY BY NICK CUBBIN.trip took in some of the six million
hectares of high conservation value
land that’s owned or managed by Bush
Heritage Australia, the organisation
Bob founded with an environment
prize he had won in 1990.
“More recently, we sailed up the
west coast of Tasmania,” says Bob.
“It’s one of the wildest, most beautiful
coastlines in the world and something
I’d always wanted to do. We sailed
into Macquarie Harbour and up the
Gordon River, and spent a magnificent
afternoon in the sunshine back on
the Franklin River.”
They’ve been working through the
bucket list but that might have to take
a backseat in the coming months
as Bob has been
drawn back to
the barricades. He
recently met with
members of 13
environment and
community groups
to discuss a joint
response to plans by
the Indian company,
Adani, to create the
world’s biggest export
coalmine in central
Queensland. The mine
would add 4.6 billion
tonnes of carbon
pollution to the
earth’s atmosphere.
It would accelerate
global warming, dig a
hole five times larger
than Sydney Harbour,
further damage the already struggling
Great Barrier Reef and threaten the
67,000 jobs that depend on it.
“Adani is the key to unlocking a
global climate catastrophe,” Bob says,
“but people standing up for what they
believe in is an unbeatable power and
if this mine goes ahead, the response
will be bigger than the Franklin Dam
blockade. I also believe this issue is
a vote changer. A big campaign in
marginal seats will come if this mine
goes ahead and there’s a lot more
commonsense out there than
politicians imagine.
“The polls say that young people
have the greatest environmental
sensitivity, but there’s a very determined
grey power involved, too. People are
worried about the impact of coal
mining on global warming and about
the impact of global warming on
their kids and grandkids. Wherever
I speak, I say, ‘If the Adani mine gets
underway, I have a good mind to
take a busload of people up there and
sit in the way.’ Immediately, people
come from everywhere saying, ‘How
can I get on the bus?’”
Over his years as an activist, Bob
has been shot at, abused, received
death threats (too many to count)
and been beaten with a wheel brace,
but he’s not afraid of stepping back
into the fray.“I’m only just getting going,”
he says, laughing. His Bob Brown
Foundation has recently been
battling the Tasmanian government’s
anti-protest laws in the High Court
and campaigning to protect wild
places that have “fallen off the
political agenda.”
“Bob’s never been busier. He doesn’t
stop to remind himself that he’s 72,”
says Paul, who is 11 years his junior.
“I think he’s got that back to front.
Surely he means 27!” Bob jokes. Then
he adds, more seriously, “While I’m
enjoying life, I want to live it with Paul
to the full. Knowing your limitations
and having a good companion who“I sometimes pinch myself to
remember how lucky I am.”
occasionally puts their hand on your
shoulder and says, ‘Have a re-think
about this’, is a good position to
be in.”
Bob and Paul celebrated their
companionship at a commitment
ceremony at Liffey in 2008 with their
closest family and friends. They have
a registered “deed of relationship”,
which provides legal recognition in
the state of Tasmania and they are
supportive of calls for marriage
equality, but have no wedding plans
of their own. “We’ll just wait and see
at the time,” says Bob. “We’re very
content the way we are, but we would
love to know that young people who
want to have a public celebration of
their love can do so.
“One of the
beautiful things about
living so long is having
seen the transformation
in people’s attitudes
[to sexuality]. In the
late ’70s or ’80s, if
I went up the street in
Hobart or Launceston,
the chances were
I would be abused
or threatened or
spat at. Now, almost
universally, people
are positive. More
change needs to
come – there are still
young people out
there who are isolated
and mistreated –
but it’s fantastic that
we’ve come this far.”
“I sometimes have to pinch myself
to remember how lucky I am,” says
Paul. The sun is setting through
clearing skies and he pulls on his
boots to go and check on the animals
before nightfall. As we leave, I ask
Bob what makes him happiest.
“It’s Paul,” he says, quietly, while
Paul’s out of earshot. “He is absolutely
the companion from heaven for me.
Growing older, you can cope with
whatever life throws at you if you
have a good companion. And living in
Tasmania – is there a more fortunate
place on earth? These are the things
that make me happiest.” AWW