Ian Cohen (born 5 June 1951) is a former Australian politician and member of the Greens New South Wales. Cohen was elected to the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...

in 1995 as its first Green member. He retired from parliament in 2011.

Early life

After attending

Fort Street High School Fort Street High School (FSHS) is a Education in Australia#Government schools, New South Wales government run, Mixed-sex school, co-educational, Selective school (New South Wales), academically selective, secondary school, secondary day school, ...

, Cohen attended and graduated from the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

with the degree of

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(BA) and later earned a Graduate Diploma in Education (DipEd).

Community activity

Cohen has organised and participated in many major environmental campaigns in Australia during the 1980s: Nightcap rainforests in Northern NSW, Franklin River, Daintree, South East forests NSW, North Washpool and Chaelundi. He has also participated in anti-nuclear campaigns including those at the Honeymoon and Roxby Downs uranium mines. Cohen's involvement in such campaigns was characterised by radical, front-line protest action; in the

Franklin River The Franklin River is a major perennial river located in the Central Highlands (Tasmania), Central Highlands and Western Tasmania, western regions of Tasmania, Australia. The river is located in the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park at ...

Dam protest, for example, he opposed The Wilderness Society's decision to halt the up-river blockade in the period between the election of the anti-Dam Federal Labor government and the Australian High Court decision that ultimately saved the river. Cohen was a founder of the Sydney Peace Squadron and the Brisbane Peace and Environment fleet and came to international attention in 1986 when photographed on a

surfboard A surfboard is a narrow plank used in surfing. Surfboards are relatively light, but are strong enough to support an individual standing on them while riding an ocean wave. They were invented in ancient Hawaii, where they were known as ''papa hee ...

, while clinging to the bow of the destroyer USS Oldendorf (DD-972), as she pulled into

Sydney Harbour Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a ria, natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove River, Lane ...

to participate in the 75th Anniversary of the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

. He was reported on ABC news as stating of the incident: "I think we sent a really strong message to the powers that be at that stage of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

that there were Australians who objected strongly in a non-violent manner to the entry of

nuclear Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: *Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics * Nuclear space *Nuclear ...

warships into

." In 1989, Birch was interviewed by Caroline Jones on her

Radio National ABC Radio National, more commonly known as Radio National or simply RN, is an Australian nationwide public service radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. ...

program, The Search for Meaning.

Political career

Cohen joined the Greens in 1984. He contested the Senate in 1984 and 1993. After contesting a seat in the state upper house in 1991, in March 1995 he was elected to the

as its first Green member. In September 1995, he was involved in organising a parliamentary delegation to protest against French nuclear testing in the Pacific. In March 2003, he was re-elected to the NSW Legislative Council for a second 8-year term. He was involved, as a Member of the State Development Committee in Parliament, in enquiries into the Viability of Rural Towns, Sustainable Agriculture, and Fisheries, as well as looking into issues such as salinity. He also established the Genetic Engineering Committee to investigate Genetic Engineering in Agriculture. He has worked on a number of Joint Select Committees, undertaking a pioneering investigation into Medically Supervised Injecting Rooms, and investigating the Northside Sewerage Tunnel. Cohen retired from parliament in 2011 and has since spoken out against the

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a nonviolent Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's ...

campaign supported by some sections of the party and the party's decision not to preference the Labor Party at the 2011 state election.

References

External links

Ian Cohen MLC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Ian Australian Greens members of the Parliament of New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Living people 1951 births University of New South Wales alumni Jewish Australian politicians 21st-century Australian politicians People educated at Fort Street High School