Sally Neighbour’s article on the Greens  (‘Divided We Fall’, February) sounded a bit like a rehash of the German Greens ‘Fundis versus Realos’ debate in the 1980s and there was some truth in it, but what was totally incorrect was the statement that Bob Brown founded the world’s first ‘green’ political party, the United Tasmania Group, in 1972. He hadn’t got as far as Tasmania in 1972 and the foundation of the UTG is usually attributed to Richard Jones, whose wife, Patsy, later became the first Green on the Hobart City Council, and in whose memory an annual lecture is still held. What would have added spice to Sally Neighbour’s article is an analysis of why the Laborials hate the Greens so much, both in Tasmania and in Canberra. That might trigger some really interesting polemic.

Peter D Jones

Lenah Valley, TAS