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"What we are doing is morally justified." |
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Written by Administrator
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Monday, 18 July 2005 |
Conondale's Robin Clayfield travels the world for her work. But when
I interviewed her last week she was calling 2-4 Bunya Street home.
The 46-year-old author said the block represented a tangible
intersection of many of her beliefs. And occupying the site was her
way of "walking the talk". "It's an important local issue but it's
also an import national and global issue,'' she said. "And it's
happening in my town."
"Why am I here? Because I can't stay away. I've been involved in the issue right through, helping with facilitating a lot of meetings. That's part of my work in the world. Plus I've lived in the area for 17 years. I love my town. And I've always been environmentally aware. As well as acting locally I've always tried to act globally and work for the environment, and work for change for a better world and I've dedicated my whole life to that.
"There's not many of us who feel physically comfortable to camp under these conditions and I don't think I would be okay to be arrested because I have to travel around the world for work. But I can't stay away. "I also think somehow being on site so much means my heart is really connected to this land and to my town."
Except of course that this is not Robin's land. It is Uniton's Land. And they have a legal right to build a supermarket there.
"My response to that is that we've tried so many avenues for a resolution,'' Robin said. "A huge percentage of the town has cried out against the developers and part of my passion is in appealing to the nation that there must be a way that ordinary people can change something that seems so unjust and unfair.
"A lot of us are aware that, legally, we are not doing the right thing. But we are so feeling that what we are doing is morally and ethically justified. My frustration is - somewhere there must be a point in our law and in our political system that a community has the power and the right to say 'No'." Robin said big companies should not be able to act "antisocially" and force themselves on communities like Maleny. And she was aware that the whole world was watching what happened in Maleny.
"We're very aware that everyone's here for different reasons. Some are here specifically for the platypus and the environment - others for our businesspeople and farmers and to fight corporate bullying. I get a sense that many of us have all the issues at heart. It's so many things. It's also about helping to change the world by the way you spend your money."
Robin runs a business, Earthcare Education. She has written and published two books which she has marketed worldwide. She has two children and is soon to be a grandmother. "I have pretty respectable work around the globe but I'm also a grass roots, earthy sort of person,'' she said. "I train teachers in creative facilitation. Part of my work is to train the Certificate Four in Workplace Training."
Robin was proud of the positive way protesters had interacted with police and security.
"Really we've just had a lovely time with the security and police on the site. There have been ups and downs but they understand we can't be responsible for every individual. It's not like it's this incredibly strategic campaign that we're running. As much as we can we hold the energy of peace and non-violence and cooperation with police.
"The other thing that has been beautiful in camp was here the other night about 8 or 9 of us did a concert for the guards and police. They all sat around and clapped at the end of each song. It wasn't a media stunt. It wasn't a planned action. It was just a beautiful sharing and an interaction with the boys and girls in blue. "At the end of that one of our guys handed a bunch of flowers to the senior policeman and I had a sense that the policeman was also very touched by it.
"I asked the guy why he'd done it and he said, 'I've always wanted to put a flower into the barrel of a gun'. And it was just that type of thing. It was very symbolic."
Photo Above:- Robin Clayfield ... "I've always tried to act globally and work for the environment, and work for change for a better world and I've dedicated my whole life to that".
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Last Updated ( Monday, 18 July 2005 )
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Range News 2005 - ON 
