Bill Hayden

For the fictional spy character, see Bill Haydon.

The Honourable Bill Hayden AC KStJ
Bill Hayden in May 1990.
21st Governor-General of Australia
In office 16 February 1989 – 16 February 1996
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Bob Hawke Paul Keating
Preceded by	Sir Ninian Stephen
Succeeded by	Sir William Deane
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade
In office 11 March 1983 – 17 August 1988
Prime Minister	Bob Hawke
Preceded by	Tony Street
Succeeded by	Gareth Evans
Leader of the Opposition
In office 22 December 1977 – 3 February 1983
Deputy	Lionel Bowen
Preceded by	Gough Whitlam
Succeeded by	Bob Hawke
Leader of the Labor Party
In office 22 December 1977 – 3 February 1983
Deputy	Lionel Bowen
Preceded by	Gough Whitlam
Succeeded by	Bob Hawke
Treasurer of Australia
In office 6 June 1975 – 11 November 1975
Prime Minister	Gough Whitlam
Preceded by	Jim Cairns
Succeeded by	Phillip Lynch
Minister for Social Security
In office 19 December 1972 – 6 June 1975
Prime Minister	Gough Whitlam
Preceded by	Lance Barnard
Succeeded by	John Wheeldon
Member of the Australian Parliament for Oxley
In office 9 December 1961 – 8 October 1988
Preceded by	Donald Cameron
Succeeded by	Les Scott
Personal details
Born	William George Hayden (1933-01-23) 23 January 1933 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Political party	Labor
Alma mater	University of Queensland
Profession	Politician

William George "Bill" Hayden AC (born 23 January 1933) was the 21st Governor-General of Australia. Before becoming Governor-General he represented the Australian Labor Party in parliament; he held several senior ministries in the Whitlam government between 1972–75 and later became Leader of the Opposition, narrowly losing the 1980 federal election to the Malcolm Fraser-led Liberal/National coalition and between 1983-88 he held more senior ministries in the Hawke government.

Early life

William Hayden was born in Brisbane, the son of George Hayden, an Irish American sailor born in Oakland, California, in 1881. Hayden's paternal grandparents were from Cork in Ireland and significant parts of his approach to social issues and politics throughout his public life reflected the Irish side of his family background. He was educated at Brisbane State High School and served in the Queensland Police Force from 1953 to 1961. He continued his education through private study, completing an economics degree at the University of Queensland. Prior to the 1970s he was a self-described democratic socialist.

Politics (1961-1988)

He became active in the Labor Party, and in the 1961 federal election he surprised everyone, including himself, by winning the House of Representatives seat of Oxley, located in southwest Brisbane. He ousted Don Cameron, the Minister for Health in the Menzies Liberal government, on a nine-point swing. Hayden's win was part of a 15-seat swing to Labor that nearly brought down the Menzies government.

Hayden was a diligent member of parliament and in 1969 he was elected to the Opposition front bench. When Labor won the 1972 election under Gough Whitlam, Hayden became Minister for Social Security, and in that capacity introduced the single mothers pension and Medibank, Australia's first system of universal health insurance. On 6 June 1975 he succeeded Jim Cairns as Treasurer, a position he held until the Whitlam Government was dismissed by the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, on 11 November 1975. Labor was severely defeated in an election held a month later; Hayden was left as the only Labor MP from Queensland. He tried to oust Whitlam as leader, but failed.

When Labor lost the 1977 election, Whitlam retired as leader and Hayden was elected to succeed him. His political views had become slightly more moderate, and he advocated economic policies which encompassed the private sector and the American alliance. At the 1980 election. Labor finished a mere 0.8 percent behind Malcolm Fraser's Liberal government on the two-party vote, having gained a nationwide swing of over four percent. However, due to the geographically uneven nature of the swing (strong in Victoria and to a lesser degree Western Australia, but comparatively weak in the other states), Labor fell 12 seats short of toppling the Coalition. Hayden did, however, manage to slash Fraser's majority, from 48 seats to 21. He not only regained much of what Labor had lost in the previous two elections, but put the party within striking distance of winning the next election. At the 1980 poll, popular union leader Bob Hawke, known to harbour leadership ambitions, was elected to Parliament.

By 1982 it was evident that Fraser was manoeuvring to call an early election. Hawke began mobilising his supporters to challenge Hayden's leadership. On 16 July Hayden narrowly defeated Hawke's challenge in a party ballot, but Hawke continued to plot against Hayden. In December Labor surprised many pundits by its failure to win the vital Flinders by-election in Victoria, further raising doubts about Hayden's ability to win an election.

On 3 February 1983, in a meeting in Brisbane, Hayden's closest supporters told him that he must resign. He reluctantly accepted their advice. Hawke was then elected leader unopposed. Later that morning, unaware of the events in Brisbane, Fraser in Canberra called a snap election for 5 March. Fraser had been well aware of the infighting within Labor, and wished to call an election before the party could replace Hayden with Hawke. He only discovered later that Hayden had resigned just a few hours before the writs were issued. At a press conference that afternoon Hayden, still chagrined, said that "a drover's dog could lead the Labor Party to victory, the way the country is". Labor under Hawke won the 1983 election handily, and Hayden became Minister for Foreign Affairs, a position he held until 1988.

As Foreign Minister, Hayden advocated closer integration between Australia and its Asian neighbours. In a 1983 interview, he stated: "Australia is changing. We're an anomaly as a European country in this part of the world. There's already a large and growing Asian population in Australia and it is inevitable in my view that Australia will become a Eurasian country over the next century or two. Australian Asians and Europeans will marry another and a new race will emerge: I happen to think that's desirable." Asiaweek, 19 August 1983.

Governor-General (1988-1996)

After the 1987 federal election Hawke offered Hayden the post of Governor-General as some consolation for his stepping down as leader and not having the chance to become the Prime Minister. The Queen of Australia's appointment of Hayden as the next Governor-General to succeed Sir Ninian Stephen was publicly announced in mid-1988, and within three months he left parliament and severed all connections with the Labor Party. He assumed the post in early 1989, and served with discretion and distinction during the somewhat chaotic transition from the Hawke government to the Keating government in December 1991. As a mark of respect for the service Hayden had rendered to the Australian Crown, the usual term of five years for a Governor-General was extended to seven years.

Early in his term, he was appointed Companion of the Order of Australia to fulfil the Governor-General's role as Chancellor and Principal Companion of the Order. He had previously said he would never accept any honours.

Former Prime Minister John Howard and Former Governor-General Bill Hayden at Paddy McGuiness' funeral

The Governor-General is normally the Chief Scout of Australia. Hayden declined the office on the grounds of his atheism, which was incompatible with the Scout Oath.

Later life

Hayden's 1996 autobiography indicates that after he left office in 1996 he was still irritated by his treatment from some sections of the Labor Party. The book is interpreted by some readers that he had an animosity towards Paul Keating for having helped engineer the 1983 leadership change. By the late 1990s Hayden joined the board of Quadrant, a well-known Australian monthly cultural and public policy magazine. In the debate preceding the 1999 republic referendum, he rejected the specific proposal and sided with the monarchists, stating he only supported direct election of a president.

Since retirement from the position of Governor-General, Hayden has continued to contribute to public policy discussion in Australia. While on the board of Quadrant, he took time to lend personal support to the publication and wrote a tribute to its editor P.P. McGuinness on his death in 2008. He has also continued to write opinion and comment pieces for other magazines and newspapers in Australia about current social, economic and political issues including foreign affairs.

Honours

By virtue of being Governor-General, he was the Chancellor of the Order of Australia and its Principal Companion (AC).

He received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Queensland in 1990 for his distinguished contributions to Australian life. He was appointed to the Order of St John Australia and also received the Gwanghwa Medal of the Korean Order of Diplomatic Merit.

In 1996 he was recognised as the Australian Humanist of the Year by the Council of Australian Humanist Societies.

In 2007 at the 45th State Conference of the Queensland Branch of the Australian Labor Party, Bill Hayden was made a Life Member of the party.

Styles and honours

• Mr Bill Hayden (1933–61)
• Mr Bill Hayden MP (1961–72)
• The Hon Bill Hayden MP (1972–88)
• The Hon Bill Hayden (1988–89)
• His Excellency the Hon Bill Hayden AC (1989–96)
• The Hon Bill Hayden AC (1996–present)

References

• Denis Murphy, Hayden, A Political Biography, Angus & Robertson Publishers 1980 ISBN 0-207-14101-0
• John Stubbs, Hayden, William Hienemann 1989
• Bill Hayden, Hayden, An Autobiography, Angus and Robertson 1996 ISBN 0-207-18769-X