Ray Evans (Australian businessman)
Encyclopedia
Ray Evans is an Australia
n business leader, a conservative, and campaigner against climate change mitigation efforts.
before he attended University of Melbourne
and graduated in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering http://www.hrnicholls.com.au/nicholls/nichvol5/vol5prof.htm. During his years at university, he served as President of the Melbourne University ALP Club and as a delegate from the Federated Fodder and Fuel Trades Union to Victorian ALP State Conferences, among others http://www.hrnicholls.com.au/nicholls/nichvol5/vol5prof.htm.
, Victoria
. From 1982 until 2001, Ray Evans was Executive Officer at Western Mining Corporation, (WMC Ltd) a major Australian mining company, (under Hugh Morgan
). Since July 2001, Ray Evans has been the Director
of Ray Evans & Associates, a consultancy specialising in political and economic advice.
and two others, founded the H R Nicholls Society, a think tank
of the New Right
of which he is still President
. The Society
has had considerable influence over Liberal Party
policies. The initial motivation for founding the Society was industrial relations - opposition to the setting of the minimum wage
by Justice Henry Bourne Higgins
and commitment to "freedom in the labour market".
, a group opposed to the ratification of the Kyoto treaty and believing that the science associated with global warming is uncertain. Evans was also instrumental in establishing a number of right-wing organisations, such as the H.R. Nicholls Society, the Bennelong Society
, and the Samuel Griffith Society
, for all of which he was either President or Treasurer. According to author Clive Hamilton
, many of these groups "shared the same post office box".
A supporter of the Greenhouse Mafia
, Evans remains a committed campaigner against climate change
initiatives, dubbing global warming
"the mother of environmental scares". In collaboration with Hugh Morgan
, Evans worked against the Kyoto Protocol
, and has been central to the campaign to prevent the former Federal Liberal
Government from taking actions to cut emissions.
Evans appeared on the ABC
's discussion panel about the Great Global Warming Swindle
, a documentary which questioned the science behind global warming. He has stated that environmentalism
is a "religious belief," and published a new book Nine Facts About Climate Change in 2007.
Evans was quoted in The Age
as saying that Al Gore
's film An Inconvenient Truth
is "bullshit from beginning to end", and that "the carbon-dioxide link [to global warming] is increasingly recognised as irrelevant".
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n business leader, a conservative, and campaigner against climate change mitigation efforts.
Early years
Evans was educated at the Melbourne High SchoolMelbourne High School
Melbourne High School is a selective entry state school for boys in years 9 to 12 located in the Melbourne suburb of South Yarra. Being a selective school, it is known mainly for its strong academic reputation...
before he attended University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
and graduated in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering http://www.hrnicholls.com.au/nicholls/nichvol5/vol5prof.htm. During his years at university, he served as President of the Melbourne University ALP Club and as a delegate from the Federated Fodder and Fuel Trades Union to Victorian ALP State Conferences, among others http://www.hrnicholls.com.au/nicholls/nichvol5/vol5prof.htm.
Business interests
Evans taught electrical engineering at Deakin UniversityDeakin University
Deakin University is an Australian public university with nearly 40,000 higher education students in 2010. It receives more than A$600 million in operating revenue annually, and controls more than A$1.3 billion in assets. It received more than A$35 million in research income in 2009 and had 835...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
. From 1982 until 2001, Ray Evans was Executive Officer at Western Mining Corporation, (WMC Ltd) a major Australian mining company, (under Hugh Morgan
Hugh Morgan (Australian businessman)
Hugh Matheson Morgan AC, , an Australian businessman, is the son of former Western Mining Corporation CEO Bill Morgan, and was himself CEO of WMC from 1990 to 2003. He was also President of the Business Council of Australia from 2003 to 2005. The Howard Government appointed him to the board of the...
). Since July 2001, Ray Evans has been the Director
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of Ray Evans & Associates, a consultancy specialising in political and economic advice.
Political activism
In January 1986 Evans, along with Peter CostelloPeter Costello
Peter Howard Costello AC is an Australian politician and lawyer who served as the Treasurer in the Australian government from 1996 to 2007. He is the longest-serving Treasurer in Australian history. Costello was a Member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1990 to 2009, representing...
and two others, founded the H R Nicholls Society, a think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
of the New Right
New Right
New Right is used in several countries as a descriptive term for various policies or groups that are right-wing. It has also been used to describe the emergence of Eastern European parties after the collapse of communism.-Australia:...
of which he is still President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
. The Society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
has had considerable influence over Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
policies. The initial motivation for founding the Society was industrial relations - opposition to the setting of the minimum wage
Minimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest hourly, daily or monthly remuneration that employers may legally pay to workers. Equivalently, it is the lowest wage at which workers may sell their labour. Although minimum wage laws are in effect in a great many jurisdictions, there are differences of opinion about...
by Justice Henry Bourne Higgins
H. B. Higgins
Henry Bournes Higgins , Australian politician and judge, always known in his lifetime as H. B. Higgins, was a highly influential figure in Australian politics and law.-Career:...
and commitment to "freedom in the labour market".
Climate change skepticism
Evans is also a founder of the Lavoisier GroupLavoisier Group
The Lavoisier Group is an organisation based in Australia that promotes scepticism of current scientific consensus on global warming. The organisation questions the fears of the effects of global warming, the idea that human activity causes it, and the wisdom of policies designed to curtail it...
, a group opposed to the ratification of the Kyoto treaty and believing that the science associated with global warming is uncertain. Evans was also instrumental in establishing a number of right-wing organisations, such as the H.R. Nicholls Society, the Bennelong Society
Bennelong Society
The Bennelong Society is as a conservative think-tank dedicated to Indigenous Australian affairs. The society was named after the Eora man, Bennelong, who served as an interlocutor between the Indigenous Australian and British cultures, both in Sydney and in the United Kingdom almost from the start...
, and the Samuel Griffith Society
Samuel Griffith Society
The Samuel Griffith Society was founded by former Chief Justice Sir Harry Gibbs, John Stone and others in 1992. Named after Sir Samuel Griffith, one of the architects of the Australian Constitution, the society describes its prime role: ".....
, for all of which he was either President or Treasurer. According to author Clive Hamilton
Clive Hamilton
Clive Charles Hamilton AM FRSA is an Australian public intellectual and Professor of Public Ethics at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics and the Vice-Chancellor's Chair in Public Ethics at Charles Sturt University. He is the Founder and former Executive Director of the The...
, many of these groups "shared the same post office box".
A supporter of the Greenhouse Mafia
Greenhouse Mafia
Greenhouse Mafia is allegedly the "in house" name used by Australia’s carbon lobby for itself. It was also the title of a program aired by the ABC on the 13 February 2006 episode of its weekly current affairs program Four Corners....
, Evans remains a committed campaigner against climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
initiatives, dubbing global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
"the mother of environmental scares". In collaboration with Hugh Morgan
Hugh Morgan (Australian businessman)
Hugh Matheson Morgan AC, , an Australian businessman, is the son of former Western Mining Corporation CEO Bill Morgan, and was himself CEO of WMC from 1990 to 2003. He was also President of the Business Council of Australia from 2003 to 2005. The Howard Government appointed him to the board of the...
, Evans worked against the Kyoto Protocol
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , aimed at fighting global warming...
, and has been central to the campaign to prevent the former Federal Liberal
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
Government from taking actions to cut emissions.
Evans appeared on the ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
's discussion panel about the Great Global Warming Swindle
The Great Global Warming Swindle
The Great Global Warming Swindle is a polemical documentary film that suggests that the scientific opinion on climate change is influenced by funding and political factors, and questions whether scientific consensus on anthropogenic global warming exists....
, a documentary which questioned the science behind global warming. He has stated that environmentalism
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
is a "religious belief," and published a new book Nine Facts About Climate Change in 2007.
Evans was quoted in The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
as saying that Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
's film An Inconvenient Truth
An Inconvenient Truth
An Inconvenient Truth is a 2006 documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim about former United States Vice President Al Gore's campaign to educate citizens about global warming via a comprehensive slide show that, by his own estimate, he has given more than a thousand times.Premiering at the...
is "bullshit from beginning to end", and that "the carbon-dioxide link [to global warming] is increasingly recognised as irrelevant".