Ray Evans (Australian Businessman)
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Ray Evans (10 September 1939 – 17 June 2014) was an Australian businessperson, political conservative, and campaigner against climate change mitigation efforts.


Early years and education

Ray Evans was educated at
Melbourne High School Melbourne High School is a government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school for boys, located in the Melbourne suburb of South Yarra, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1905, the school caters for boys from Year 9 ...
. He attended the
University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...
, from which he graduated in electrical and mechanical engineering. During university, he was president of the Melbourne University ALP Club, and a delegate from the Federated Fodder and Fuel Trades Union to Victorian ALP state conferences. He resigned from the ALP to act as campaign manager for
Sam Benson Samuel James Benson, CBE (12 July 1909 – 26 July 1995) was an Australian politician. Born in Adelaide, he was educated in that city at St Peter's College. He became a wool-classer, then a seaman and Port Phillip pilot, earning the rank of shi ...
in the latter's successful campaign to retain the federal seat of Batman as an independent in 1966. In the 1960s, Evans worked as an engineer in the
production planning Production planning is the planning of Production (economics), production and manufacturing modules in a company or industry. It utilizes the resource allocation of activities of employees, raw material, materials and production capacity, in orde ...
section of the State Electricity Commission of Victoria.


Career

He taught electrical engineering at
Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia. Its main campuses are in Melbourne's Burwood suburb, Geelong Waurn Ponds, ...
, Victoria. From 1982 until 2001, he was executive officer at
Western Mining Corporation Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that ...
in Australia, under Hugh Morgan. From July 2001 to June 2014, he was the
director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...
of Ray Evans & Associates, a
consultancy A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servic ...
specialising in political and economic advice.


Political advocacy

In January 1986, Evans, along with former federal Treasurer
Peter Costello Peter Howard Costello (born 14 August 1957) is an Australian businessman, lawyer and former politician who served as the treasurer of Australia in government of John Howard from 1996 to 2007. He is the longest-serving treasurer in Australia' ...
and two others, founded the H R Nicholls Society, a
think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...
of the
New Right New Right is a term for various right-wing political groups or policies in different countries during different periods. One prominent usage was to describe the emergence of certain Eastern European parties after the collapse of the Soviet Uni ...
, of which he became president. The Society has had considerable influence over
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
policies. The initial motivation for founding the Society was
industrial relations Industrial relations or employment relations is the multidisciplinary academic field that studies the employment relationship; that is, the complex interrelations between employers and employees, labor/trade unions, employer organizations, ...
– a commitment to "freedom in the labour market", and opposition to the Australian industrial relations mechanism, represented by the establishment of the minimum wage by Justice Henry Bourne Higgins in the 1905 "Harvester Judgement".


Global warming scepticism

Evans was a founder of the
Lavoisier Group The Lavoisier Group is an Australian organisation formed by politicians and dominated by retired industrial businesspeople and engineers.Kyoto Protocol treaty, believing that the science associated with global warming was uncertain. He was instrumental in establishing a number of other right-wing organisations, such as the Bennelong Society, and the Samuel Griffith Society, serving as either president or treasurer of each; according to author
Clive Hamilton Clive Charles Hamilton AM FRSA (born 12 March 1953) is an Australian public intellectual and Professor of Public Ethics at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (CAPPE) and the Vice-Chancellor's Chair in Public Ethics at Charles ...
, many of these groups "shared the same post office box". A supporter of the "
Greenhouse Mafia "Greenhouse Mafia" is the title of a TV program aired by Australian network ABC on the 13 February 2006 episode of its weekly current affairs program '' Four Corners''. The program says the term ''greenhouse mafia'' is the "in house" name used b ...
", he campaigned against
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
initiatives. In collaboration with Morgan, Evans worked against the Kyoto treaty, and was central to the campaign to prevent the former Federal Liberal government from taking actions to cut emissions. In February 2006, Evans published ''Nine Lies About Global Warming'', wherein he quotes a 1992 work by political scientist
Aaron Wildavsky Aaron Wildavsky (May 31, 1930 – September 4, 1993) was an American political scientist known for his pioneering work in public policy, government budgeting, and risk management. Early years A native of Brooklyn in New York, Wildavsky was th ...
that states, "Global warming is the mother of environmental scares." He appeared on the
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
's discussion panel, '' The Great Global Warming Swindle'', which questioned the science behind global warming. He has stated that environmentalism is a "religious belief", and published a book ''Nine Facts About Climate Change'' in 2007. Evans was quoted in ''
The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory ...
'' as saying that
Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic no ...
's film ''
An Inconvenient Truth ''An Inconvenient Truth'' is a 2006 American documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim about former United States Vice President Al Gore's campaign to educate people about global warming. The film features a slide show that, by Gore's own e ...
'' is "bullshit from beginning to end", and that "the carbon-dioxide link o global warmingis increasingly recognised as irrelevant".


Death and legacy

He died on 17 June 2014 in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, aged 74 (though some reports incorrectly stated he was 79).HR Nicholls Society co-founder Ray Evans dead at 79
''
The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...
'', 18 June 2014
''The Age'' then memorialized him as a modern radical:


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Ray 1939 births 2014 deaths People educated at Melbourne High School University of Melbourne alumni Australian activists Businesspeople from Victoria (state) Academic staff of Deakin University