For readers on the east coast unlikely to know more than the name - this is the Hon Gary Gray AO MP the new Federal Minister for Resources and Energy, Tourism and Small Business, former climate change sceptic and former supporter of the Lavoisier Group.
This is what he said about himself before his recent political elevation to the Gillard Cabinet:
Gary arrived in Australia from Yorkshire, England in 1966 and settled with his family in state housing in Whyalla, South Australia.
Gary got his first job after high school in the local BHP steelworks. In 1981, he graduated from the Australian National University, Canberra with a degree in economics.
In 1983 Gary moved to Kwinana, Western Australia to study education at the University of Western Australia.
He began working for the Labor Party in the Northern Territory and then in the United Kingdom. From 1986 to 1992 Gary worked on every state and federal election.
In 1993 Gary was elected as National Secretary of the ALP holding this office until 2000 when he relocated back to Perth with his wife, Deborah and three boys.
On returning to Perth in 2000 Gary was asked by the Chairman of Wesfarmers, to work as the Executive Director of the West Australian Institute for Medical Research.
In 2001 Shell attempted to take over Woodside Energy, Australia’s biggest independent oil and gas company, which has its head office in Perth. Gary was engaged by Woodside as an Adviser in the campaign to keep the company in Australian hands – which succeeded.
Gary was then asked to join the company, becoming the Director of Corporate Affairs and a member of the company executive team. In this position Gary represented Woodside before governments on four continents as a negotiator, advocate and leader. Gary left this exciting position in 2007 to commit full-time to the community of Brand.
Gary’s contribution to Australia’s democratic process was recognized in 2003 when he was invited to accept the high civil award of Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) and an Australia Medal.
In 2007, Gary was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Development and Northern Australia in the Labor Government. In 2009, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Western and Northern Australia.
At the 2010 Federal election Gary was re-elected as the Federal Member for Brand and later appointed Special Minister of State & Special Minister of State for the Public Service and Integrity.
In 2007 this is what Gary Gray said about uranium mining:
Wikipedia had this to add about Gary Gray:
Foreign worker EMAs
As a parliamentary secretary in the Gillard Government, Gray chaired a taskforce comprising employment and training agencies, unions and employers to examine ways of dealing with the expected shortage of workers on major resource projects. In July 2010, the National Resources Sector Employment Taskforce put recommendations to the Australian Government, including a proposed enterprise migration agreement (EMA). After consideration by the government, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Chris Bowen and the Minister for Resources and Energy, Martin Ferguson, announced on 25 May 2012, the first EMA for the planned $9.5bn Roy Hill iron ore mine, proposed by businesswoman Gina Rinehart. The announcement said more than 8000 workers would be required for the construction phase and to meet labour demand, the government would allow up to 1715 457 visas for overseas workers for the three-year construction phase….
What he told The Australian in June 2012 about bringing in foreign skilled workers:
without the EMA, "we won't get the next generation of mining and oil and gas facilities constructed on time and on budget".
Quoted in The West Australian in May 2012 on the subject of cash incentives to encourage workers to relocate to WA:
WA Labor frontbencher Gary Gray said there had long been a deep reluctance to head west for work, conceding financial incentives had generally failed to get people to shift.
"For many, the relocation is difficult because of the great distance, the lifestyle change, and the separation from family and friends," he said.
"Today, there is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for all Australians to be part of the amazing economic expansion in the north, where miners are offering the best wages and conditions on new projects."
On the matter of coal seam gas exploration in 2012:
GARY Gray, the federal Special Minister of State, is assessing an application for coal seam gas exploration at Holsworthy Military Reserve.
If approved, it would be the first time seam gas exploration work would take place on military land and could possibly set a precedent for future applications.
A spokeswoman from the Department of Finance and Deregulation confirmed to the Champion an application had been made by AGL.
"AGL has expressed interest in obtaining access to commonwealth owned land located in NSW, including in the Holsworthy area," the spokeswoman said.
"Under the Lands Acquisition Act 1989, all decisions to authorise or to refuse access to Commonwealth land by mineral explorers are made by the Special Minister of State."
An AGL spokeswoman told the Champion consultations had begun for preliminary exploration….
On Sky News PM Agenda, 19 March 2013:
I'm a strong supporter of the coal seam methane industry, of the shale gas industry, of unconventional gas as we call it.
On the subject of mining generally:
In The Sydney Morning Herald, 25 March 2013
Our resource industry rests on a secure and sound environmental approvals process,
A good approvals process is as essential to a successful mining operation as good engineering and sound banking.
Speaking with Emma Alberici he stated that the mining industry needs bankable approval processes.
Hansard, 17 September 2009 on the subject of his contact with James Hardie:
I rise to discuss a matter recently published in a book called Killer Company by Matt Peacock, a book about James Hardie and about James Hardie’s actions in seeking to deal with asbestos issues. In that book the author records as follows:
Baxter quickly sought advice from Hardie’s other PR consultant, Gavin Anderson and Co, which suggested hiring Stephen Loosley, a former secretary of the New South Wales Labor Party and then consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he had been joined by the former national secretary of the Labor Party, Gary Gray.
At no time have I ever worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers. At no time have I ever provided advice to James Hardie. At no time have I ever been a paid consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers. Indeed, this allegation as recorded by the author, Matt Peacock, followed an article in the Sydney Morning Herald five years ago which prompted me to write a letter to the editor which was published in that newspaper. In his article about the James Hardie inquiry, ‘Guns are trained on Hardie’s messenger’, in the Sydney Morning Herald dated 24 September that year, Richard Ackland wrongly asserted that I had been engaged by James Hardie to work for it behind the scenes. The facts are as follows. In 2000 I worked for the West Australian Institute for Medical Research. One of the research projects was on mesothelioma, funded in part and for many years by James Hardie. The research was highly regarded. I approached James Hardie in late 2000 specifically with regard to its funding of this research. During that approach I was asked if I was able to work for James Hardie as a consultant. I said I was not able to work for it but that I might be able to if I accepted a position, which I was at that time considering, as a consultant to the legal firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. As things worked out, I did not work for that legal firm. I did not work for James Hardie and I received no payment from James Hardie, and I did not provide it with any advice. I was not engaged to work behind the scenes, and I said in that letter that if Mr Ackland had checked his facts with me he would have known that to be the case.
Unfortunately, it is the case that Matt Peacock did check the facts with me and I did inform Matt that at no time had I ever worked as a consultant to PricewaterhouseCoopers and at no time had I worked as a consultant to James Hardie. I find the way in which Mr Peacock has recorded this fact pattern to be both bizarre and inaccurate. He could have done better in order to better illustrate his story of the need for adequacy in the funding vehicle which was to be created by James Hardie to fund future actions with regard to victims of asbestosis. I am more than prepared to say to Matt Peacock that his book is a fine piece of work. I have not found any other inaccuracies in it and regard it to be an excellent study of the dynamics and the consequences of Hardie’s actions.
