KIM BOOTH will be a great loss to Tasmania. Love him or hate him he was a passionate advocate for a clean, green, environmentally respected Tasmania.
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Some of his activities could be described as over the top, but in politics it sometimes pays to hype the message to get traction.
Mr Booth may be the last of the predominantly environmental Greens, as the tide of a new social Greens agenda establishes a foothold across Australia. If this is the case his departure is indeed a milestone.
A sawmiller before his parliamentary career he brought knowledge and experience to the forest debate. With limited resources he has been effective in holding governments on both sides of politics to account.
The Greens had settled into the role of environmental gate keeper. They continued their agenda for a Western Tasmania national park while adopting the role of monitoring issues like environmental degradation, and biosecurity, but the new Greens have broadened the agenda.
You may not have agreed with their traditional philosophy and you might have been frustrated with their attacks on forestry and hydro activity in the dams era, but a fair swag of the land they fought to preserve was worth protection. It may surprise the uninitiated to know that the Greens played politics over the years, but of course they did. It is the game of politics which you either engage or remain relevant.
Nationally the new Greens leadership is becoming more pragmatic - a bridge too far for hard liners like Christine Milne and Kim Booth.
But, with Bob Brown they forged an alternate path for Tasmania. They transformed an idea on the fringes into a mainstream social norm.
No one takes the environment for granted any more. No one can demolish our urban heritage or our wilderness without our say so. For that Mr Booth has played his part. We wish him well.