A climate change activist who starved himself on the steps of Parliament House has broken his silence after being rushed to hospital when his health deteriorated dramatically.
Gregory Andrews, 55, had vowed not to eat any food until Prime Minister Anthony Albanese “gets serious” about climate change and starts taking action against the use of fossil fuels.
On Friday, the 16th day of the protest, Mr Andrews was rushed to hospital in Canberra after he began experiencing chest pain and shortness of breath.
He previously told Ny Breaking Australia he suffers from a heart murmur and an enlarged heart and feared the strike could give him a heart attack.
The next day, he shared a photo of himself from the hospital, smiling and giving a thumbs up and wearing a “STOP COAL” shirt while connected to an IV, on his website to keep his followers updated on his health.
The father-of-two said that despite breaking his fast after losing more than 10kg, he is “determined” to continue his fight for action on climate change once he is healthy again.
Climate activist Greg Matthews, 55, (pictured) shared an image from hospital on Saturday after his 16-day hunger strike ended as his health deteriorated
Mr Andrews walked unaided to a waiting ambulance where he was taken to hospital
‘I had to listen to my body when it started to break down. “I lost control of my limbs and speech, and my brain became quite foggy,” he said in a statement.
“My wife, the Parliament House nurse, the ambulance paramedics and the federal police all told me it was time to go to hospital.”
Here at the Canberra Hospital the staff are amazing. They’ve hooked me up to all kinds of different IVs and they’re doing six-hourly ECGs to monitor my heart. This morning I can get up and walk under supervision.’
Mr Albanese had not acknowledged Mr Andrews’ hunger strike during the two weeks he stood on the lawn in front of Parliament House, despite numerous media appearances he had made to get the Prime Minister’s attention.
“I want you to know that I have not given up the fight for our future. There is no more time,” Mr Andrews wrote.
‘I don’t really understand the psychology of it, but the fact that our Prime Minister ignored me has made me more determined than ever.
‘I’m glad I saved my body for the future.’
Mr Andrews said he will remain in hospital until at least early next week as there are still concerns about his health, but will be geared up to continue his efforts once he is out.
He revealed his next act will be to return to Parliament House and personally deliver a climate change petition to the Prime Minister ‘on behalf of thousands of Australians’.
“He may have been ignoring me on the lawns of Parliament House for the past two weeks,” Andrews wrote.
‘But I can tell him that I was never alone. You were all with me in calling for a secure future.”
Mr Matthews was rushed to hospital from the Front Laws of Parliament House the day before after suffering shortness of breath and chest pain (pictured)
The father of two (pictured with a trailer) vowed not to eat food until Prime Minister Anthony Albanese gets ‘serious’ about climate change and starts taking action on fossil fuels
Mr Andrew’s previously worked for the government for 30 years as ambassador to West Africa and as Australia’s deputy chief climate negotiator at the United Nations.
However, he quit his $250,000 job in 2021 because he was “tired of being asked to promote fossil fuels” and became a full-time climate activist.
Eight days after his strike, he told Ny Breaking Australia he had not told his children he was “prepared to die” during the strike.
“If they told me I was going to die, I don’t know what they would say… but they support me 100 percent and my daughter came to see me,” he said.
After being taken to hospital, Mr Andrews said he would spend time with his “dear family who held me with unconditional love and solidarity throughout my hunger strike”.
He had been visited by hundreds of supporters as he sat in a chair or lay in swag next to a blackboard that was updated for each day he was on strike.