Sue Higginson has stared down loggers at forestry blockades, mining company lawyers in the highest courts, and now wants a chance to unleash her passion in the ‘Bear Pit’ of the NSW Parliament.
After stepping down as the head of the NSW Environmental Defenders Office, which she was instrumental in forming in Lismore, Ms Higginson has signed up with her local branch of the NSW Greens party in the hope of representing the party at the next state election.
Courted to the Greens party by long-time friend and fellow environmentalist Ian Cohen, and inspired by a speech by the NSW Attorney General Mark Speakman, who said the parliament needed more lawyers, Ms Higginson told Echonetdaily she was ‘available and interested in entering parliament if the local group supported me’.
And why wouldn’t they?
With a strong candidate, and long-serving Nationals MP Thomas George resigning, the Greens are hoping to do what they did in Ballina where Greens member Tamara Smith reigned supreme after the resignation of incumbent Don Page of the Nationals. Greens candidate Adam Guise, on the back of the CSG issue, almost did the same in Lismore and is yet to announce whether he will put himself forward as a challenger.
‘I think with every election we are faced with new challenges and circumstances,’ Ms Higginson said.
‘What’s clear for Lismore is that there is a long-standing representative who won’t be running again so they (the Nationals) don’t have the benefit of incumbency.
‘I also think communities are looking for stronger, louder, engaged voices. What we saw with the CSG issue is that we realised that when we work together we can make a real difference.’
Ms Higginson believes that success at the next election will go to the candidate who best represents the electorate’s desire for a cleaner energy future across all sectors – agriculture, industry and community.
‘When you look at what we are facing regionally with a changed climate it’s apparent that we need to learn how to adapt to this … and what the Nats and Labor are not talking about is how do we adapt so that local industries can survive,’ she said.
‘The answer is obviously a cleaner energy future with a vibrant farming sector and alternative industries.
‘By concentrating on these things we would be putting Lismore on the map and that would be a great thing for all of NSW’
‘We’ve already had a poll about renewable energies and moving out of fossil fuels and Lismore is saying we do want to move forward and do things differently.
‘The electorate of Lismore is quite advanced in what it expects and while we don’t have CSG or Metgasco here at the moment there is no certainty that they are gone forever.
‘In fact we’ve got the Prime Minister saying that gas is in its energy mix plan and we’ve got the state Liberals and Nats saying that gas is not guaranteed to be off the agenda.
Ever the diplomat, Ms Higginson said she had admired the work ethic of outgoing member Thomas George, who she has been running into at airports for the past five years.
‘He has loyal supporters and is a hard worker but whoever stands for the Greens will be highlighting just how aligned the National Party is with the mining industry.
‘I’m concerned that we have serious problems in how the Nats have managed natural portfolios, with mining, and not managing land clearing.
‘The Nats position in the Murray Darling basin plan was inappropriate and reminds us that water is a real issue here on the north coast and we have to be cautious about it.
‘We have an abundance of natural resources and the Nats have had a long time in power yet they haven’t shown how best to manage those natural resources.
She said success at the election would go to who has the best credentials to secure a sustainable economy across the northern rivers.
‘Lismore will remember that the Nats and their friends the Liberal party were prepared to sell out to Metgasco and it was only at the 11th hour that that changed,’ she said.
Asked about a possible match-up against Labor’s Janelle Saffin, a former member of the NSW Upper House and then Federal member for Lismore, Ms Higginson concedes it would be a tough fight.
‘She would be a formidable opponent. Janelle has been an incredible member of parliament,’ she said.
‘The problem for her is that she comes with the Labor party.
‘It doesn’t matter how good a worker or politician she is she would be caught up in Labor party politics.’
‘And let’s remember that it was the Labor party who handed out the CSG licences in the first place.
‘The difficulty for Janelle is that she would be just another Labor party voice.’
With a successful Greens candidate, however, Ms Higginson maintains that Lismore could be a real force in the house, especially if Tamara Smith retains Ballina and the other two Greens in parliament are re-elected.
‘If Lismore voters can engage with that idea, of putting Lismore on the map rather than electing just another Labor or Nat, Lismore would once again be a pioneering community.’
She ranks the lack of public transport, the health of the river system, and the protection of the natural environment as key issues for the election.
‘It’s grossly unfair for young people and workers that Labor and the Liberal and National parties have abandoned public transport and instead delivered a giant highway that is destroying our natural environment,’ she said.
‘If we have another Labor person or Nat go to Sydney all they will be is a dim voice saying we want a train. But if you’ve got the Greens down there you could actually get it.
‘We could be a state-of-the-art electorate that is serious about making a difference and I believe that is something that the people are ready for and want.’
‘And only a Greens member for Lismore would fix the river’.
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