William George Hayden AC (1933 - 2023)

Born 23 Jan 1933 in Spring Hill, Queensland, Australia

Died 21 Oct 2023 at age 90 in Queensland, Australia

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Preceded by Sir Ninian Martin Stephen KG AK GCMG

21th Governor-General of Australia 16 Feb 1989 - 16 Feb 1996

Succeeded by Sir William Deane AC KBE QC

Bill Hayden was an Australian politician who served as

• Member for Oxley (1961-1988)
• Minister for Social Security (1972-1975)
• Treasurer of Australia (June-November 1975)
• Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (1983-1988)
• Leader of the Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition (1977-1983)
• 21st governor-general of Australia (1989 to 1996)

Biography

William Hayden AC is Notable.

William George Hayden was born on 23 Jan 1933 at the Lady Bowen Lying-In Hospital in Spring Hill, Queensland. He was the first child born to Violet Quinn and George Hayden, who married a few weeks after his birth. Violet was a widow with a son from her first marriage who was raised by an aunt. Hayden had a younger brother and two younger sisters. His father was also a widower, but had no children.^[1]

Hayden started his schooling at St Ita's Catholic Primary School in South Brisbane, but switched to state education at Dutton Park State School, South Brisbane Intermediate School and Brisbane State High School, finishing in 1949. He worked as a junior clerk at State Government Stores and was conscripted to the Royal Australian Navy for six months in 1951. In 1953, Hayden's father died in April, and he joined the Queensland Police Force. He trained in Brisbane, then was transferred to Mackay, Calen, Sarina then in 1956, back to Brisbane in the Criminal Investigation Branch and later to Redbank.^[1]

Hayden married Dallas Elspeth Rose Broadfoot (born 7 May 1938) in May 1960. They had three daughters and a son. Their eldest daughter Michaela died at the age of five in 1966 after being hit by a car.^[2]

Hayden joined the Australian Labor Party in 1957. He won preselection for the Division of Oxley (the electorate that included Redbank near Ipswich) in October 1960 and won the seat at the 1961 election. He served as Minister for Social Security then Treasurer in the Whitlam Government (1972-1975). When Labor also lost the 1977 election and Whitlam retired as leader, Hayden was elected as leader of the Labor Party. He resigned in 1983 and was replaced by Bob Hawke. Labor returned to Government after the 1983 election, led by Hawke. Hayden became Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Hayden was announced as the next Governor-General in mid-1988, so resigned from parliament and the Labor Party. He took up the post in early 1989, replacing Sir Ninian Stephen. His term was extended to early 1996 (terms are usually only five years).

Biill Hayden died on 21 October 2023.^[3]

Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), Fri 6 Jun 1975, Page 2

Mr HAYDEN

A keen and diligent worker comes to the Treasury

By TONY O'LEARY

The appointment of Bill Hayden as Treasurer is a personal triumph for one of the Labor Party's most enthusiastic and diligent Ministers. There is little doubt that his management of this portfolio during the coming months will be critical to the Government's future, and it is through recognition of this rather, than Mr Hayden's popularity with the Prime Minister that he finds himself succeeding Dr Cairns in the post. For Mr Hayden probably more than any other Minister has enjoyed both the heights of popularity and the disdain of both his colleagues and the Press, particularly through his handling of one of Labor's major pre-election proposals, the National Health Insurance Scheme, which is finally coming into operation on July 1 this year. Idealism During his early months as a Minister, fired with idealism and the desire for change, Bill Hayden lost no time in promoting the Government's proposals, countering criticism from doctors and the health funds and generally embroiling himself in a campaign which probably he thought would be short and swift but which has dragged on ever since. Possibly because of his enthusiasm for Labor's proposals and the belief which he instilled in others that the scheme, was bound to be implemented quickly, his popularity waned as the campaign wore on. His stocks recovered to a degree when the Government’s legislation to implement what is now known as 'Medibank' was passed by a joint sitting of Parliament last year. But his credentials as an economist have been well established during his period in the Ministry and his stand on many economic issues, although unpopular with some colleagues, have largely been borne out. As a member of both the Cabinet Expenditure Review Committee and the Economic Council, an economic advisory group which includes the Secretaries of government departments, Mr Hayden has been consistent in advocating a reduction in overall expenditure. This has been a view to which the Government as a whole has publicly subscribed though, in effect, it has failed to pursue in many instances. Mr Hayden, through his opposition to many expenditure proposals, has shown that he is willing to risk unpopularity in pursuit of goals which he believes are in the best interests of overall economic management, and in this respect he probably differs most from his predecessor. Certainly, if he approaches his new job in the same way he has advanced his career, the Treasury should be in good hands. Raised in a Brisbane working-class area, Mr Hayden left school at 16 to enter the State Public Service — not a very auspicious beginning for a future Australian Government Treasurer. After spending three years in the service as a junior clerk he opted for higher wages and improved conditions in the Queensland Police Force, an occupation which he claims he enjoyed and found interesting. Nearing the end of his eight year term as a policeman, Mr Hayden studied part-time for his matriculation certificate, which he gained in 1960, and in the same year he married Dallas Broadfoot, a coalminer's daughter from Ipswich, Queensland. He was elected to the Queensland seat of Oxley in 1961, the election in which Labor, under the leadership of Arthur Calwell, came within an ace of winning Government. It was an unexpected victory but one which launched Bill Hayden on his remarkably successful political career. During his term as th« Member for Oxley Mr Hayden, as an Opposition backbencher, continued his studies and in six years took out a degree in economics from the Queensland University. His election to the front bench of the Labor Party, however, was not quite as rapid and it was not until 1970 that he was appointed as the Opposition spokesman for social-welfare matters. Progressive Asked soon after his appointment to the front bench why he thought it had taken him so long, Mr Hayden said he suspected that one reason was that some of the causes and issues which he had taken up had not been popular. In his early days in the party, he also could have expected to put some colleagues offside with what in the early 60s could have been regarded as extremely progressive views on social issues. Mr Hayden has long been an advocate of freedom from censorship, has advocated abortion law reform, homosexual-law reform, and has been a strong supporter of the Family Law Bill, which recently received Parliamentary approval. When he has held firm views on these and other issues he has tended to expressing them, usually, in a forceful manner, an unusual trait for a politician with his record of achievement. At 42 Mr Hayden is the youngest member of the Whitlam Ministry and in the early days of Labor's rule was widely tipped to succeed Mr Whitlam as leader of the party. Enthusiasm for him in this role has since waned; but his appointment to the Treasury has given him an exceptional chance to gain the necessary support for eventual appointment as leader. This support will, of course, depend not only on how efficiently and effectively Mr Hayden deals with Treasury but also on the degree of influence he has over ministerial colleagues in implementing his own brand of economic policy.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Stubbs, John (1989). Hayden. William Heinemann Australia. ISBN 0855613394.
2. ↑ Bill Hayden Wife How Did Dallas Hayden Shape His Journey?, Entertainment Regional Lifestyle Digital Network accessed 22 October 2023
3. ↑ Hon William George (Bill) HAYDEN, Deaths & Funerals archived on 23 October 2023, accessed 23 October 2023

See also:

• Wikipedia contributors, "Bill Hayden," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Hayden (accessed 22 October 2023).
• 1980 'BILL HAYDEN-THE MAN WHO WANTS TO BE PM', The Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982), 1 October, p. 40. , viewed 13 Mar 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article57568619
• Obituary. Bill Hayden. ABC News. Accessed 22 October 2023. Bill Hayden dies aged 90
• Wikipedia: Bill Hayden
• Wikidata: Item Q250087, en:Wikipedia