Jack Mundey is a national figure in Australia.  This story links his achievements in heritage  and environmental activism with the parallel story of civic and political reforms in these fields  over the past half-century.

The Mundey story is not simply that of a small-town boy making good in the big smoke. Yes:  he grew up in a small north Queensland town and later made Sydney his home; but more importantly, his  achievements in heritage conservation and grassroots politics led to his becoming a role model for those on both sides of politics who were incensed by the greed and bulldozer mentality displayed by key players (both public and private) during much of the era covered by the book. This is his story, now told for the first time in a popular format.

In Sydney during the 1960s and 70s, Jack dedicated himself to reform in the building industry. But civil society at large was another beneficiary of his efforts as he simultaneously led his union (the Builders’ Labourers’ Federation) into the campaign to save valued heritage properties from the bulldozers. With growing grass-roots support, his BLF imposed “Green Bans” on dozens of projects which threatened heritage, bushland and wilderness sites throughout Sydney and elsewhere.  And the world’s first Green Ban at Kelly’s Bush in Sydney’s Hunters Hill is now part of modern environmental history. Somewhat later, Mundey’s passionate belief in grass-roots values and people-power saw him represent his country at international environmental and conservation forums where he found himself on the same stage as some of the great names of the contemporary conservation movement – people like Barbara Ward, Paul Ehrlich, Buckminster Fuller, and Petra Kelly (to name a few).

Today it would be fair to say that militant trade unionism rarely surfaces in environmental debates. Yet Jack’s message has become more and more relevant as urban communities worldwide lurch from one environmental crisis to another. When he coined the term “green ban” back in the 1970s, concerted international action on environmental issues was in its infancy. Perhaps unknowingly, JM was helping to energise a global movement whose aims coincided with his own personal philosophy – a standing reminder of society’s fundamental responsibility for careful and sensitive management of our dwindling environmental resources (the commons) in cities and bush alike. For Mundey today, the message remains as relevant as ever, as cynical governments and aggressively avaricious  business interests at every level show an increasing reluctance to discharge their environmental responsibilities in their pursuit of ‘progress’. At the same time, the non-government sector worldwide is again having to man the barricades to help safeguard our dwindling environmental resources- often in the face of official disinterest and neglect.

This book is the first to chronicle in a comprehensive way, and for a popular readership, the key achievements and activities- over half a century- of this erstwhile trade union leader turned dedicated conservationist. Today it would be fair to say that Mundey has few if any peers in Australia. Internationally his name is respected in conservation and labour reform circles.  This book tells his important story for the first time.