The social responsibility of labour versus the environmental impact of property capital: The Australian green bans movement

Abstract

Between 1971 and 1975 Australian building industry workers withdrew their labour from environmentally irresponsible projects and, in coining the term ‘green ban’ to describe their action, originated the political designation ‘green’. Alienated from the products of their own labour and committed to ideas about the social responsibility of labour, they directly confronted what Lamarche [1976] has identified as the ‘planning role’ of property capital. They hindered the means of production by withdrawal of labour and also the reproduction of the relations of production by successfully challenging the legitimacy of private appropriation on the grounds of its adverse ecological effects. Green bans in New South Wales halted development worth A$5 billion and had a significant impact on environmental legislation, town planning and public attitudes.