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Tasmanian Greens launch federal campaign

28 February 1996

By Iggy Kim HOBART -- The Tasmanian Greens launched their federal election campaign here on February 15 to a packed auditorium of more than 200 people. For the House of Representatives, the Greens' candidates are Karen Weldrick for Denison, John Hale for Franklin, Deborah Manskey for Lyons, Kristina Nicklason for Bass and Claire Thompson for Braddon. Speeches from the candidates targeted both social and ecological issues. Nicklason outlined the Greens' aim of phasing out woodchipping in old growth forests in three years, while Manskey highlighted the importance of the social environment, particularly provision of adequate child-care, health and social services. Hale, an education lecturer, spoke about the importance of education for a democratic society, and Thompson, a welfare worker, pointed to the appalling impact of economic rationalism on her electorate. In the final speech at the launch, the Greens' Senate candidate, Bob Brown, emphasised his party's opposition to the economic rationalism of the major parties, including the sale of Telstra. He also addressed the inclusion of a national carbon levy of $18 per tonne of emitted carbon in the Greens' environment policies, which he said would help Australia meet its international obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. On the power to block supply in the Senate, Brown promised that the Greens would "treat it with enormous responsibility", stating that he did not foresee a situation in which to use the power. Citing the 1989-92 Labor-Green accord in the Tasmanian parliament, Brown said, "Even after Labor broke the accord and handed the forests to the woodchippers, we Greens supported the next two budgets under a hail of criticism because that was the responsible thing to do".

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