Pete Gray (activist)
Encyclopedia
Peter Robert Gray was an Australian environmental
activist
, notable for two "landmark" court cases, and for having thrown his shoes in public at former Prime Minister of Australia
John Howard
in protest over Australia's participation in the 2003 invasion of Iraq
.
He was described in an obituary
in the Sydney Morning Herald as "a pleasure-loving intellectual" driven by "an instinctive anti-authoritarianism bordering on the larrikin
".
He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in Classics
, at the University of Newcastle
. He then worked as an archivist in the university library. He was simultaneously a member of the Rising Tide "climate change
action group", campaigning in particular against logging and coal mining.
In 2006, he took the government of New South Wales
to the Land and Environment Court
over its environmental assessment of the Anvil Hill Coal Mine
. The Court found in his favour, ruling that the government had failed to properly assess the greenhouse gas pollution that would be caused by the mining and subsequent use of the coal. It was described by Greenpeace
as a "landmark case [...] that forced tougher scrutiny of coal mine emissions in Australia".
In 2009, he initiated what the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
described as "the first ever legal action aimed at curbing greenhouse gas pollution from a coal-fired power station", by taking Bayswater Power Station owners Macquarie Generation to the Land and Environment Court. He asked the court to find that the power station had been "wilfully or negligently
disposing of waste [...] by emitting carbon dioxide
into the atmosphere in a manner that has harmed or is likely to harm the environment in contravention of section 115(1) of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997", and sought an injunction
against the station. The case, Gray and Anor v Macquarie Generation, was ongoing at the time of his death.
He was also "the original instigator of what is now an annual flotilla in Newcastle harbour, disrupting the movement of ships for a day at the world’s largest coal export port", and was arrested several times.
In October 2010, he was in the audience of a Q&A talk show episode in which members of the public were invited to ask questions to former Prime Minister John Howard. Gray asked:
Dissatisfied with John Howard's reply, and prevented from asking a follow-up question due to host Tony Jones
telling him "We've got to move on", Gray, apologising to Jones, threw both his shoes at the former Prime Minister, and shouted: "That's for the Iraqi dead". Neither of the shoes hit Howard. Partner Naomi Hodgson, who had accompanied him, left the studio with him, shouting that Howard had "blood on [his] hands". The action echoed that of Iraq
i journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi, who had thrown his shoes at the President of the United States, George W. Bush
, during a press conference two years earlier. Gray's action "hit the headlines" in Australia, and also received media coverage in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and India
. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard
condemned the action, saying there was "no excuse for that kind of disrespectful conduct towards anyone", and Tony Jones described him as an "idiot", which Gray later commented "does actually hurt a bit coming from Tony Jones".
Gray himself later said that he had found the event "stressful" because it wasn't "in [his] own nature" to throw anything at anyone. He subsequently published an article in The Newcastle Herald
, explaining his action:
The following month, in November 2010, he married Naomi Hodgson. He was, at the time, suffering from bowel cancer, and had been since 2009. He died of the cancer five months later.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation had retained his shoes after he had thrown them, and he had asked that they be sold at auction, with the money to be donated to the Red Cross. Upon Gray's death, John Howard endorsed the idea, and Tony Jones announced it would be seen to. The auction took place on 26 August, "with all proceeds to be directed to the Red Cross's aid efforts in Iraq". The shoes were bought by Volley
, the company that had made them, for A$
3,650. They were then displayed in the company's museum of "well-worn Volleys".
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...
activist
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
, notable for two "landmark" court cases, and for having thrown his shoes in public at former Prime Minister of Australia
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
in protest over Australia's participation in the 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
.
He was described in an obituary
Obituary
An obituary is a news article that reports the recent death of a person, typically along with an account of the person's life and information about the upcoming funeral. In large cities and larger newspapers, obituaries are written only for people considered significant...
in the Sydney Morning Herald as "a pleasure-loving intellectual" driven by "an instinctive anti-authoritarianism bordering on the larrikin
Larrikinism
Larrikinism is the name given to the Australian folk tradition of irreverence, mockery of authority and disregard for rigid norms of propriety. Larrikinism can also be associated with self-deprecating humour.- Etymology :...
".
He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in Classics
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
, at the University of Newcastle
University of Newcastle, Australia
The University of Newcastle is an Australian public university that was established in 1965. The University's main and largest campus is located in Callaghan, a suburb of Newcastle in New South Wales...
. He then worked as an archivist in the university library. He was simultaneously a member of the Rising Tide "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...
action group", campaigning in particular against logging and coal mining.
In 2006, he took the government of New South Wales
Government of New South Wales
The form of the Government of New South Wales is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1856, although it has been amended many times since then...
to the Land and Environment Court
Land and Environment Court of New South Wales
The Land and Environment Court of New South Wales is a Court established by legislation giving it exclusive jurisdiction to determine environmental, development, building and planning disputes...
over its environmental assessment of the Anvil Hill Coal Mine
Anvil Hill Coal Mine
The Anvil Hill Coal Mine is proposed for the upper Hunter Valley in New South Wales. There is strong support for and against the coal mine within the Hunter Valley and other areas....
. The Court found in his favour, ruling that the government had failed to properly assess the greenhouse gas pollution that would be caused by the mining and subsequent use of the coal. It was described by Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
as a "landmark case [...] that forced tougher scrutiny of coal mine emissions in Australia".
In 2009, he initiated what the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
described as "the first ever legal action aimed at curbing greenhouse gas pollution from a coal-fired power station", by taking Bayswater Power Station owners Macquarie Generation to the Land and Environment Court. He asked the court to find that the power station had been "wilfully or negligently
Negligence
Negligence is a failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like circumstances. The area of tort law known as negligence involves harm caused by carelessness, not intentional harm.According to Jay M...
disposing of waste [...] by emitting carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
into the atmosphere in a manner that has harmed or is likely to harm the environment in contravention of section 115(1) of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997", and sought an injunction
Injunction
An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that requires a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
against the station. The case, Gray and Anor v Macquarie Generation, was ongoing at the time of his death.
He was also "the original instigator of what is now an annual flotilla in Newcastle harbour, disrupting the movement of ships for a day at the world’s largest coal export port", and was arrested several times.
In October 2010, he was in the audience of a Q&A talk show episode in which members of the public were invited to ask questions to former Prime Minister John Howard. Gray asked:
- "The recent releases of American military information from WikileaksWikileaksWikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
show evidence of tens of thousands of civilian casualties as a result of the invasion of Iraq, as well as widespread abuse and torture of prisoners. There were no WMDs. Many people now regard the Iraq war as a strategic failure and think it probably incited more terrorist violence than it stopped. How should you be held accountable for Australia's participation in the war on Iraq?"
Dissatisfied with John Howard's reply, and prevented from asking a follow-up question due to host Tony Jones
Tony Jones (news journalist)
Anthony William Jones, known as Tony Jones, is a Walkley Award-winning Australian television journalist.-Early life:Jones attended Newington College and the University of Sydney as a resident of St Paul's College.-Career:...
telling him "We've got to move on", Gray, apologising to Jones, threw both his shoes at the former Prime Minister, and shouted: "That's for the Iraqi dead". Neither of the shoes hit Howard. Partner Naomi Hodgson, who had accompanied him, left the studio with him, shouting that Howard had "blood on [his] hands". The action echoed that of Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi, who had thrown his shoes at the President of the United States, George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, during a press conference two years earlier. Gray's action "hit the headlines" in Australia, and also received media coverage in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
condemned the action, saying there was "no excuse for that kind of disrespectful conduct towards anyone", and Tony Jones described him as an "idiot", which Gray later commented "does actually hurt a bit coming from Tony Jones".
Gray himself later said that he had found the event "stressful" because it wasn't "in [his] own nature" to throw anything at anyone. He subsequently published an article in The Newcastle Herald
The Newcastle Herald
The Newcastle Herald is a local tabloid newspaper published daily, Monday to Saturday, in Newcastle, New South Wales, the largest non-capital city in Australia. It is the only local newspaper that serves the entire Hunter and Central Coast regions six days a week...
, explaining his action:
- "Political leaders must be held accountable for their actions – this is a neglected yet fundamental part of the democratic system of which we are justifiably proud – but Mr Howard’s election loss does not constitute anything like a full measure of accountability. [...] My actions on the set of Q&A upset a lot of people. Mr Howard’s actions killed a lot of people. I will remain unapologetic, and it appears he will do the same. I encourage everyone to express their own views on the wars in the Middle East, their views on Mr Howard, and their views on my actions, but I would ask that everyone take a few moments to really try to imagine the reality of war."
The following month, in November 2010, he married Naomi Hodgson. He was, at the time, suffering from bowel cancer, and had been since 2009. He died of the cancer five months later.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation had retained his shoes after he had thrown them, and he had asked that they be sold at auction, with the money to be donated to the Red Cross. Upon Gray's death, John Howard endorsed the idea, and Tony Jones announced it would be seen to. The auction took place on 26 August, "with all proceeds to be directed to the Red Cross's aid efforts in Iraq". The shoes were bought by Volley
Dunlop Volley
Dunlop Volley is a brand of sandshoe popular in Australia, similar to the Plimsoll shoe. It is produced by Dunlop Sport, part of Pacific Brands....
, the company that had made them, for A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
3,650. They were then displayed in the company's museum of "well-worn Volleys".