Veteran journalist Peter Thompson has died at 73

Veteran journalist Peter Thompson has died.

The 73-year-old passed away last Friday in Sydney after living with Parkinson's disease and more recently suffering pneumonia.

The family of the former ABC broadcaster have remembered him as a “generous spirit who was widely admired.”

The ABC announced the sad news, and honoured Thompson in a post which read:

"Thompson hosted several ABC TV and radio programs, such as Talking Heads, over a career spanning four decades from the 1970s.

“He was also a passionate environmental campaigner known for his role in opposing the damming of Tasmania's Franklin River in the 80s.”

The captioned added that “renowned environmentalist Bob Brown said Thompson played a 'pivotal role in saving' the wilderness.”

Brown's statement continued, "He was an early advocate and media star who had a pivotal role in saving the Franklin River wilderness.

"Appalled by the flooding of Lake Pedder, he won public debates with advocates for damming the Franklin River, including former Labor Premier ‘Electric’ Eric Reese.”

 

 

 

 

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Brown's statement included this excerpt:

"Thompson began his career as a sports broadcaster on radio at 2LF in Young in 1970. He moved to Tasmania in 1972 and worked as a presenter on various commercial stations, including 7EX, 7LA and TNT9. 

"He also presented the ABC TV current affairs program This Day Tonight in 1978. Thompson presented ABC Radio Sydney’s Drivetime in 1987 and then the ABC morning current affairs program AM from 1988 to 1993. 

"He was presenter of Radio National Breakfast from 1994 to 1999 and again from 2003 to 2004. He also hosted a series of 35 “Wisdom Interviews” for Radio National from 2002 to 2004. 

“Thompson was the presenter of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Talking Heads, a weekly biographical television program about the lives of prominent Australians, which began on ABC1 in 2005 and ended in 2010 after 238 episodes.”

Thompson was also appointed a fellow of the Australia and New Zealand School of Government in 2007, teaching executive programs in public policy. 

He became an adjunct professor at Macquarie University’s Department of International Communication in 2006. He was also director of the Centre for Leadership, a private consultancy on communication.