Robert James Brown
Robert James "Bob" Brown is a former Australian Greens politician, medical doctor, environmentalist, former Senator and former Parliamentary Leader of the Australian Greens. He was the first openly gay member of the Parliament of Australia, and the first openly gay leader of an Australian political party. Brown moved to Tasmania in 1972 and became actively involved in the state's environmental movement. He was elected to the Australian Senate for Tasmania in 1996, and was outspoken in his support of green and human rights issues. Brown is the founder of the Australian Bush Heritage Fund, now Bush Heritage Australia, a non-profit environmental organisation dedicated to purchasing and preserving Australian bush land.
Brown has published several books including Wild Rivers (1983), The Greens (1996) and In Balfour Street (2010). In 2004 James Norman published the first authorised biography of Brown, entitled Bob Brown: A Gentle Revolutionary.
“We have got some very big problems confronting us and let us not make any mistake about it, human history in the future is fraught with tragedy ... It's only through people making a stand against that tragedy and being doggedly optimistic that we are going to win through. If you look at the plight of the human race it could well tip you into despair, so you have to be very strong.”