A life of activism has turned into a life of politics for Scott Ludlam, who is as passionate now about the environment as he was on the picket lines in the late ’90s.
THREE years in federal parliament has not changed Senator Scott Ludlam’s ambitions to change the way business thinks about climate change.
Mr Ludlam was introduced to the world of politics through his chosen career path of graphic design, first creating artwork for environmental non-government organisations and anti-nuclear lobby groups in particular.
He later joined the Greens volunteering for former MP Robin Chapple in his first term of state parliament, and also spent two years working for fellow Greens Senator Rachel Siewart as an adviser.
But it was joining anti-uranium groups protesting at Jabiluka, and helping out at campaigns to save old growth forests in the southwest that showed Mr Ludlam the potential to enact significant change when everybody is reading from the same page.
“Working in volunteer groups in WA got me exposed to the political sphere and green politics in particular, because they were the folk who were directly related to and were directly helping the sort of work I wanted to do,” Mr Ludlam told WA Business News.
“I had a really powerful introduction to the fact that when non-government organisations, political parties, business interests and the general community line up and coordinate their efforts, you can actually create substantial change.
“I saw that roll out in the late stages of the forest campaign, and also in the instance of the Jabiluka uranium mining campaign in 98-99.
“Shortly after that we had a proposition by a British nuclear fuels and a Swiss nuclear corporation to dump radioactive waste from around the world here in WA.
“Again I saw that very broad collective, it was cross party, it wasn’t anything the Greens owned, it was non-government groups and campaign groups, indigenous groups, and business interests, who coordinated and ran a very efficient campaign and showed them the door.”
Mr Ludlam is one of five Australian Greens senators in the federal parliament, acting as the party’s spokesperson for communications, housing, human heritage, legal affairs, local government, mining, nuclear issues, public transport and sustainable cities.
But he says his path to politics has been anything but typical.
“I would consider it probably a bit unusual for a graphic designer to wind up in the Senate and I think that should tell people that anybody can do it, you just have to be passionate about what you’re going to do,” Mr Ludlam said.
“I would tend to advise anybody who really, really wants to get into politics, they should probably have second thoughts and go and do something else.
“One of the most pleasant surprises I had once getting into politics was the degree to which, from all sides of politics, parties and independents, nearly everybody is in there out of a sense of service, of community service.
“I think that is what to look for if you’re considering a career in politics, if that is what is motivating and driving you, then go for it.”
Even though he’s now a federal senator, bound with the duty of protecting the interests of the wider community, Mr Ludlam has not forgotten his activist roots.
“There is still a part of me that likes nothing more than people taking matters into their own hands when they see something wrong or unjust,” Mr Ludlam
A current example of something wrong or unjust, according to Mr Ludlam, is the ongoing debate surrounding carbon tax, renewable energy and climate change.
“There is a really dangerous polarisation going on, where business interests somehow don’t have a stake in getting the climate fixed or energy security right, that somehow these things are at odds with business interests,” he said.
“The thing that I’d love to do, from a Western Australian perspective, is to harness the energy and ingenuity of the business community on the climate issue and on energy issues generally.
“We need to get a broad appreciation right through the business sector that the interests in getting a zero emissions economy are profound, in terms of job creation and economic resilience, protection against oil shocks, supply shocks, and protection against the inflationary impacts of burning stuff to generate electricity if the fuels themselves are depleting.”
* This is the first in an occasional series on WA politicians in Canberra.
