ROBIN GRAY (AUSTRALIAN POLITICIAN)

The Hon. 'Robin Trevor Gray' (born March 1, 1940 in Kew, Victoria) is a former Australian politician who was Premier of Tasmania from 1982 to 1989. A Liberal, he was elected Liberal state leader in 1981 and in 1982 defeated the Labor government of Harry Holgate on a policy of "state development," particularly the building of the Franklin Dam, a hydroelectric dam on the Franklin River.
Gray's campaign to build the dam aroused protests from the Tasmanian Greens, led by Dr Bob Brown (later a Senator). In 1983, the newly elected federal Labor government led by Bob Hawke intervened to prevent the building of the dam.
After seven years in power, Gray's government lost the 1989 election by one seat, when the ALP formed an accord with the Greens, whose unprecedented five seats gave them the balance of power.^[1] Gray refused to resign and tried to secure a fresh election, but the Governor Sir Phillip Bennett refused to accept his advice. A Royal Commission later found that prominent Launceston businessman and chairman of Gunns, Edmund Rouse, had tried to bribe a Labor backbencher to cross the floor and keep Gray in power. Gray denied any knowledge of this but the Royal Commission criticised his conduct. He resigned as Liberal leader on 17 December 1991, left politics on 1 December 1995, and went into business.
Gray is now a director of forestry company Gunns Limited.

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Further reading

External links

References

1. Ward, Airlie: Minority Government, ''Stateline Tasmania'' (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), 10 March 2006.

Further reading

★ Lines, William J. (2006) ''Patriots : defending Australia's natural heritage'' St. Lucia, Qld. : University of Queensland Press, 2006. ISBN 0-70223-554-7

External links

★ Parliamentary Library profile