Gary was raised in humble beginnings along with his two brothers in the Perth hills community of Kalamunda. While times were sometimes tough, his recollections of his childhood are overwhelmingly positive - of balmy summer days spent gardening and exploring the "jungle" at the bottom of the block - and of trips to favourite holiday and camping destinations such as Mandurah, Rottnest Island and Lake Leschenaultia.

After completing a music scholarship at Perth Modern School, Gary went on to study Geology and Geophysics at the University of Western Australia. After graduation, he moved to the Pilbara region of Western Australia where he took up a role as a Mine Geologist at one of BHP Billiton's iron ore mines. He quickly left behind his area of expertise in geology, moving into planning, quality and general management positions, whilst taking on progressively more senior roles in Australia and overseas.

Most recently, Gary was Global Manager for the Six Sigma program for BHP Billiton, one of the world's largest natural resource companies. The goal of this program was to improve the profitability of the company by US$1Billion per annum, primarily through increased production and improved efficiencies.

In late 2006, Gary resigned from this role, mainly to take two years off to spend more time with his 4 year old twin sons before they commenced school full-time. However Gary had also become increasingly concerned about the impact of climate change, and was increasingly unhappy with his role in contributing to this by helping a natural resources company produce more product faster, thereby effectively producing more CO2 emissions faster.

Gary says "as a Geologist, I was initially sceptical about both the extent of climate change, and the degree to which it was linked to human activities. However, the increasing scientific consensus finally swayed me, and I am now absolutely convinced that climate change is happening and that we are predominantly to blame".

Gary recently joined 160 other Australians who were trained by Al Gore to help deliver his message on climate change.

While he believes that climate change does present a significant and urgent challenge, Gary is also convinced that we can successfully minimise climate change by working individually to reduce our own personal contributions to greenhouse emissions and also by encouraging companies to do more to reduce their emissions. His corporate experience tells him that, while there may be some increased costs associated with this, there are likely to also be many opportunities to improve productivity through changes in technology and other efficiencies that will largely offset these costs.

Gary also believes that we need urgent change on the political scene in order to be successful in the fight against climate change. "We need the Federal and State Governments to act now to help in this fight. Both of the major political parties in this country are at best paying lip service to climate change. We need to ensure that Australians who are concerned about the impact of climate change have a voice in the Federal Senate to ensure that all legislation is reviewed so that short term economic interests are balanced by the longer term impacts of climate change".

Gary is committed to ensuring that future generations of Western Australians can continue to enjoy the natural glory of Western Australia and the world at large while also benefiting from a prosperity driven by a commitment to sustainability.

Gary is working on creating a sustainable lifestyle in the Perth hills suburb of Piesse Brook where he lives with his wife Toni and his sons Ryan and Adam.

Contact Gary

Tel 0419 586765

gary(at)climatechangecoalition.com.au