Biography

Parliamentary service

• State: Elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly for Denison, 1983. Resigned 12.2.1993.
• Federal: Elected to the Senate for Tasmania 1996. Re-elected 2001 and 2007. Resigned 15.6.2012.

Committee service

• Joint Standing: Electoral Matters served from 14.2.2008 to 5.7.2011
• Senate Legislative and General Purpose Standing: Environment, Communications, Information Technology and the Arts: Legislation served from 1.7.2005 to 5.10.2005; Finance and Public Administration served as Substitute member from 26.11.2008 to 15.6.2009; Finance and Public Administration: Legislation served as Substitute member from 14.5.2009 to 15.6.2009; Environment and Communications: References served as Substitute member from 11.5.2011 to 22.9.2011
• Senate Select: Socio-Economic Consequences of the National Competition Policy served from 24.8.1999 to 17.2.2000
• Senate Standing: Senators' Interests served from 17.9.2008 to 25.10.2010; Procedure served from 3.2.2009 to 15.6.2010

Conferences, delegations and visits

• Study tour, Tibet, Nepal and India, November 1999.
• Host, Global Greens Conference, Canberra, April 2001.
• Study tour, Colombia, Republic of Korea and East Timor, May 2002.

Parliamentary party positions

• Australian Greens. Served: 01.07.1996 to 15.06.2012
• Leader of the Federal Parliamentary Australian Greens from 28.11.2005 to 13.4.2012.
• Spokesperson for the Australian Greens on Prime Minister and Cabinet; Treasury; Foreign Affairs, Defence and National Security; Schools, Education; Forests (Tasmania); Whaling and Antarctica from 1.7.2011 to 15.6.2012.

Party positions

• Senate Candidate for the United Tasmania Group, 1975.
• Delegate to the Founding Meeting of the Australian Greens, 1992.

Other positions

• Life Member of the Australian Conservation Foundation.
• Life Member of the Hobart Walking Club.
• Founding Member of the Wilderness Society, 1976.
• Participated in Franklin River blockade, 1982.
• Participated in Tarkine wilderness protest, 1995.

Personal

• Born: 27.12.1944, Oberon, Australia
• Gender: Male
• Marital Status: Partner

Qualifications and occupation before entering Federal Parliament

• MBBS (University of Sydney).
• General practitioner from 1968 to 1980.
• Director of the Wilderness Society from 1979 to 1984.
• Founding President of the Australian Bush Heritage Fund, 1990.

State/Territory Government service

• Elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly for Denison, 1983. Resigned 12.2.1993.
• Parliamentary Leader of the Greens from 1989 to 1993.

Publications

• Wild Rivers: Franklin/Denison/Gordon (with Peter Dombrovskis), Peter Dombrovskis Pty, Sandy Bay, Tas: 1983.
• Lake Pedder, Wilderness Society, Hobart, Tas.: 1986.
• Tarkine Trails, Wilderness Society, Hobart, Tas.: 1994.
• The Greens (with Peter Singer), Text Publishing, Melbourne, Vic., 1996.
• A green 21st century: becoming reality, Bob Brown, Hobart: 1998.
• Valley of the giants: a guide to Tasmania's Styx River Forests, Wilderness Society, Hobart, Tas.: 2001.
• Memo for a saner world, Penguin Books, Camberwell, Vic., 2004.
• Tasmania's Recherche Bay, Green Institute, Hobart: 2005.
• Earth, Self-published, Hobart, Tas., 2009.
• In Balfour St, Self-published, Hobart, Tas., 2010.
• Optimism: reflections on a life of action, Hardie Grant Books, Richmond, Vic.: 2014.
• Green nomads: across Australia's wild heritage, Hardie Grant Books, Richmond, Vic.: 2015.
• Planet Earth: inspirations and thoughts from a planet warrior, Hardie Grant Books, Richmond, Vic.: 2019.