JJ Barrett
When disagreement divides a community, finding shared interests can give people somewhere to rebuild connection.
A reflection on Noojee’s forestry debate, the harm caused when disagreement becomes disconnection, and the importance of finding mutual interests without erasing different views.
Noojee has always had strong opinions about forestry.
For years, pro logging and anti logging views existed side by side, but around seven years ago those divisions became much more intense when harvesting was proposed immediately beside the township without a buffer.
Concerns were raised that removing trees in that location could create a wind tunnel effect into town. For me, the concern was practical. What could that mean for weather impacts, fire behaviour and the way wind moved through the township?
But the conversation quickly became about sides.
Pro logging.
Anti logging.
Greenie.
Logger.
People who had been neighbours for years and would usually look out for one another stopped speaking because they found themselves on opposite sides of the debate.
Some of us ended up in the middle and caught in the crossfire.
To this day, there are people who see me as a greenie because I questioned the logging proposal, while others see me as pro logging because I recognise the value of forestry and the knowledge held by people who have worked in the industry.
Funny how quickly people can decide who you are for you.
At some point, trying to constantly convince people which box you do or do not belong in becomes exhausting.
When someone becomes so attached to a position that they stop listening altogether, that is usually when I stop sharing too.
There isn’t much value in a conversation when curiosity has left the room.
That experience taught me something important.
The problem is not always disagreement.
The problem is when disagreement becomes disconnection.
For me, resilience is not everyone agreeing with each other.
And it is not simply sitting at the same table after a disagreement while glaring at each other in disdain.
It is working out what we do agree on.
What is our mutual interest?
What is our mutual need?
What is the goal we both care about, even if we arrived there from completely different directions?
A forestry worker and an environmentalist might disagree about how forests should be managed.
But they may both care deeply about the forest.
A tourism operator and a long term resident may disagree about visitor numbers.
But they may both want a clean, safe and sustainable town.
People may have very different views about fire management, but still share the same desire to protect lives, homes and the landscape.
That common ground does not erase disagreement.
It gives us somewhere to build from.
And sometimes, that is when the tide starts to turn.