Bill Hayden, former governor-general and Labor leader, dead at 90

A senior minister in the Whitlam and Hawke governments, Hayden famously handed the Labor leadership to Bob Hawke, who weeks later became prime minister.

Former Governor-General Bill Hayden pictured in 1996. Picture: Chris Pavlich. headshot alone apr 1996

Bill Hayden, who served as Australia’s 21st Governor-General, Labor leader and senior minister in the Whitlam and Hawke governments, has died at age 90.

His health had been declining for the past decade and he was in and out of hospital for strokes, pneumonia, heat exhaustion and broken bones. His wife, Dallas, and three children cared for him at home until recently.

Mr Hayden was one of the few surviving members of a generation of leading politicians, his death coming after Gough Whitlam (2014), Malcolm Fraser (2015), Bob Hawke (2019) and Andrew Peacock (2021).

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese praised his lifetime of service to Australia. “In a time of forceful personalities, Bill Hayden was notable for his humility,” he said in a statement. “Yet there was nothing modest about his ambition for Labor or Australia. This was the quiet strength of character he brought to the cause of progress.”

Former Prime Minister Paul Keating, who served in two cabinets with Mr Hayden, said Australia is poorer for his passing. “Bill Hayden was a great servant of Australia,” he said in a statement. “Very few Australians have made such a contribution over such a long period.”

As Labor leader from 1977 to 1983, Mr Hayden almost led Labor to power but reluctantly made way for Hawke who went on to take the party into government when Fraser called a snap election. Mr Hayden said “a drover’s dog” could lead Labor to victory – a final swipe at his nemesis as the axe fell.

Hayden shares laugh with PM Bob Hawke in 1989.

As federal Opposition Leader.

Born in depression-era Brisbane to working class parents in 1933, Mr Hayden experienced poverty and a violent father. He was plagued by self-doubt, lacked the killer political instinct and never fully trusted his colleagues. He gave his life to public service and fighting injustices.

Elected to the federal seat of Oxley in Brisbane at the 1961 election, Mr Hayden was the youngest member of Parliament. He had previously worked in the public service as a clerk, finding it boring, and joined the police force. As a young constable, he saw the worst of humanity and the trauma of that experience remained.

Dallas and Bill Hayden at the end of their term at Government House, Canberra. Picture: Ray Strange

He served as Minister for Social Security (1972-75) and Treasurer (1975) in the Whitlam government. In three short years, he was responsible for the introduction of Medibank, new welfare payments and presented the budget which restored a degree of economic credibility but became deadlocked in the Senate and led to the dismissal of the government by Governor-General Sir John Kerr in 1975.

Mr Hayden refused to be drafted into the Labor leadership or serve on the front bench after the electoral drubbing months later but eventually returned to the shadow ministry. He launched an ill-fated challenge against Whitlam in 1977. He became Labor leader later that year.

Then prime minister Paul Keating farewells Hayden as Governor-General in 1996.

In his five years as opposition leader, Mr Hayden remade Labor’s front bench, recruited new candidates, overhauled its policies and reformed its structures. He was the vital bridge between the Whitlam and Hawke-Keating governments.

As part of a deal for stepping aside for Hawke to become leader on the eve of the 1983 election, Mr Hayden secured a promise in writing to be made foreign minister in the next Labor government. Hawke kept the promise and Hayden served as Australia’s emissary to the world during the Cold War from 1983 to 1988.

He raised the prospect of becoming Governor-General and Hawke immediately agreed. Then opposition leader, John Howard, refused to support the vice-regal appointment and accused Hawke of trying to assuage his guilt over the Labor leadership contest years earlier. Hayden served in the vice-regal post from 1989 to 1996.

Gough Whitlam and Hayden.

In 2018, Mr Hayden was baptised into the Catholic Church, casting off his atheism. He had an affinity with the church’s social justice teachings, had been a regular churchgoer in his youth, and was schooled in the Catholic system.

Married to Dallas Hayden (nee Broadfoot) for 63 years, Mr Hayden was father to four children: Michaela, Kirk, Georgina and Ingrid. Tragically, the eldest, Michaela, died at age five when struck down by a car outside Sunday School.

Former PM John Howard and Hayden.