Pete Bates

What Pete speaks about

Pete co-founded The Pete Bates Project with Belinda Bates. He speaks with organisations about childhood adversity and harmful patterns; addiction, offending and consequences; and isolation, connection and rebuilding.

His specialist public education continues to examine coercive control, post-separation abuse, children used as leverage and victim misidentification. He asks what becomes visible when repeated conduct, changing access and the consequences of resistance are read together.

The experience behind the work

Pete grew up in a household affected by severe domestic violence. His public account connects that childhood with early addiction, offending and the normalisation of harmful behaviour, while keeping responsibility for his own choices clear.

He was charged with murder at 19 and faced life in prison. He has publicly described spending fourteen and a half years in Queensland correctional institutions, including maximum-security environments and prolonged isolation.

Pete’s account of rebuilding includes incarceration, prolonged isolation, addiction, life after release, self-education, training, work, family, setbacks, responsibility and rebuilding again.

Mentoring and conversation

Pete has spoken publicly about mentoring younger prisoners around addiction, crime, choices and consequences, and about continuing informal conversations with younger men after release.

A central part of that work is challenging the mythology around toughness, the street and prison — and showing what those choices actually cost.

Accountability

Understanding what behaviour can sit on top of does not excuse harm. A woman’s conduct never makes her responsible for violence used against her. Childhood adversity does not mean a child will become violent.

Pete’s work is lived-experience speaking, public education and practical rebuilding resources.