United Tasmania Group
Encyclopedia
The United Tasmania Group (UTG) is generally acknowledged as the world's first Green party. The party was formed on 23 March 1972, during a meeting of the Lake Pedder Action Group
(LPAG) at the Hobart
town hall in order to field political candidates in the April 1972 state election. They received 3.9% of the statewide vote and came within 200 votes of winning a seat. They also contested the 1976 election, this time receiving 2.2% of the votes.
The United Tasmania Group's first President was Dr Richard Jones
and it lasted for five years, briefly reforming in 1990 for the federal election. Most of the original candidates, including Bob Brown
went on to form the Tasmanian Greens
(who enjoyed considerably more success) and then ultimately, at the national level, the Australian Greens
.
Lake Pedder Action Committee
The Lake Pedder Action Committee was a Tasmanian environmental group that in the early 1970s unsuccessfully fought the state government of Tasmania led by Eric Reece and its powerful and influential energy agency the Hydro-Electric Commissionto prevent the flooding of Lake Pedder in South West...
(LPAG) at the Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
town hall in order to field political candidates in the April 1972 state election. They received 3.9% of the statewide vote and came within 200 votes of winning a seat. They also contested the 1976 election, this time receiving 2.2% of the votes.
The United Tasmania Group's first President was Dr Richard Jones
Richard Jones (Tasmanian politician)
Dr. Richard Jones was one of the co-founders of the United Tasmania Group , the world's first Green party and the predecessor of the Tasmanian Greens. He was the UTG's first president when it formed in March 1972, through to the middle 1970s. At the time Jones was an academic biologist working at...
and it lasted for five years, briefly reforming in 1990 for the federal election. Most of the original candidates, including Bob Brown
Bob Brown
Robert James Brown is an Australian senator, the inaugural Parliamentary Leader of the Australian Greens and was the first openly gay member of the Parliament of Australia...
went on to form the Tasmanian Greens
Tasmanian Greens
The Tasmanian Greens are a political party in Australia which developed from numerous environmental campaigns in Tasmania, including the flooding of Lake Pedder and the Franklin Dam campaign...
(who enjoyed considerably more success) and then ultimately, at the national level, the Australian Greens
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
.
External links
Further reading
- Armstrong, Lance J.E. (1997). Good God, He’s Green! A History of Tasmanian Politics 1989-1996. Wahroonga, N.S.W., Pacific Law Press. ISBN 1-875192-08-5
- Lines, William J. (2006) Patriots : defending Australia's natural heritage St. Lucia, Qld. : University of Queensland Press, 2006. ISBN 0-70223-554-7