Hugh Morgan | |
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_(8975674133).jpg) Morgan (right) | |
| Born | Hugh Matheson Morgan (1940-09-09)9 September 1940 (age 85) Victoria, Australia |
| Education | Geelong Grammar School |
| Alma mater | University of Melbourne |
| Occupations |
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| Awards | Companion of the Order of Australia Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Complete list |
Hugh Matheson Morgan (born 9 September 1940), is an Australian businessman and former CEO ofWestern Mining Corporation (1990 to 2003). He was President of theBusiness Council of Australia from 2003 to 2005.[1] TheHoward government appointed him to the board of theReserve Bank of Australia in 1996,[2] where he remained until 2007.[3] He also was the Founding Chairman ofAsia Society Australia.
Morgan was educated atGeelong Grammar School and theUniversity of Melbourne, where he studied law and commerce. He briefly worked as a lawyer for Arthur Robinson & Co. (Western Mining Corporation's law firm) then as a finance director atNorth Broken Hill (which later became North Limited).[4]
Hugh is the son of former WMC CEO, Bill Morgan. After Bill died in the 1970s,Sir Arvi Parbo took Hugh under his wing and in 1976 made him Australia's youngest executive director. He was 36 years old at the time.
In 1996, Morgan made the decision to spend $1.25 billion expanding theOlympic Dam mine in the far north of South Australia.
He was CEO of WMC from 1990 until his retirement in 2003.[4]
Morgan was first appointed to the Reserve Bank of Australia in 1981, but was not reappointed after a speech delivered in 1984 attracted criticism for his characterisation of Aboriginal Australians. He was reappointed in 1996 and held the position until 2007.[5]
Morgan is a vocal member of theLiberal Party of Australia[5] and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology, Science and Engineering (ATSE).[6] In 1993, Patricia Howard fromThe Canberra Times described Morgan as "an extremely high profile defender of a range of "hard" right-wing ideals" and a serial writer of letters to the editors of various newspapers. She claimed he had been "instrumental" in forming theH. R. Nicholls Society (an anti-arbitration group) and in funding theCentre for Independent Studies and "other right wingthink tanks".[7]
At the time of his exit from WMC Resources, Morgan was described inThe Sydney Morning Herald as "a key business sounding board for the Federal Government". The former Victorian PremierJeff Kennett considered him to be one of the most influential people in Australia. Kennett described Morgan as having a "profound influence" on Australian policy debates in a "very quiet and yet qualitative way". He influenced public policy on matters of trade, taxation,greenhouse gas emissions andnative title, and during the Howard government was a frequent guest of thePrime Minister.[8]
Morgan once claimed thatnative title threatened Australia's sovereignty, and was an outspoken opponent of Aboriginal Land Rights in the 1980s and 1990s. In the 2000s, Morgan spoke of reconciling mining with Aboriginal welfare and moderated his previously controversial commentary.[4]
He is sceptical ofglobal warming, opposed to theKyoto Protocol[9] and, as a member of theGreenhouse Mafia and president of theLavoisier Group,[10] was central to a campaign to prevent the FederalLiberal Government from acting to cut emissions[11] (in collaboration with fellow former WMC executiveRay Evans).
Morgan is a member of the Saltbush Club, a group that promotesclimate change denial.[12]
Morgan advocates the development ofnuclear power in Australia.[5]
In June 2006, Hugh Morgan formed the company Australian Nuclear Energy withFairfax chairmanRon Walker and fellow mining executiveRobert Champion de Crespigny and planned to buildnuclear power plants in Australia.[13] Morgan has a 20% stake in the company.[13] Controversially, prime ministerJohn Howard revealed that he had a discussion with Walker about the company days before he announced an inquiry into nuclear power. The inquiry, known as UMPNER or theSwitkowski Review went on to predict that Australia could potentially have 25 nuclear reactors producing a third of the country's electricity by 2050.[14] Morgan was one of five individuals listed as consulting during the Switkowski Review. The others were: Morgan's former WMC colleagueIan Duncan, anti-nuclear activistsRichard Broinowski andHelen Caldicott and scientist,Dr Tim Flannery.[15]
In 2007, Morgan toldThe Age that he was open to possible joint ventures with "key players" in the global nuclear business, such as Melbourne businessman John White, who had spent the prior decade developing the concept ofnuclear fuel leasing. At the time, Morgan believed there were future opportunities in uranium mining, nuclear waste repositories and nuclear power plants.[14] Treasurer John Costello wished Morgan's business partner Ron Walker "good luck" after he was informed of their Australian Nuclear Energy venture.[16]
When "conservation agreements" were made possible for "nuclear actions" under theEnvironment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, Morgan flagged how an internationally ownednuclear waste repository could be built.[17] One such a proposal was announced for Aboriginal land during the Howard government[18] but did not proceed.
Morgan's nuclear industrial development plans stalled after the Labor party won the 2007 Federal election.
In 2015, his company Australian Nuclear Energy was described as being "in commercial hibernation from which it is unlikely to return."[19]
The concept of importingspent nuclear fuel for storage and disposal in Australia was further explored during the 2015–2016Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission in South Australia.
In January 2017, Morgan toldThe Australian that he planned to lobby state and Federal Australian government on the subject of nuclear power in Australia. He told the newspaper that he thought that it "ought to be back on the agenda."[20]
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