Minute by the Lord Mayor
To Council:
It is with sadness that I inform Council of
the death of former Liberal Minister, refugee advocate and tourism leader Bruce
George Baird AM, on 2 October 2026 at the age of 84.
Bruce was elected to the New South Wales
Parliament in 1984 after a career in business and trade. He began his working
life as a Qantas executive trainee before serving as Assistant Trade
Commissioner in Bonn (1972-1976), Trade Commissioner in New York (1977-1980), and
Government Affairs Manager for Esso Australia (1980-1984).
As a Minister, he brought this experience not
only to the Transport portfolio, but as Minister for Tourism and played a
significant role in bringing the 2000 Olympics to Sydney. After Nick Greiner
resigned as Premier in June 1992, Bruce was a candidate in the internal Liberal
Party election for his successor. Bruce lost to John Fahey, resulting in his
perhaps being the best Liberal Premier NSW never had.
Bruce retired from the NSW Parliament at the
1995 NSW election. In the 3 years that followed he served as managing director
of the Tourism Council of Australia. In 1998, he was elected to the Federal
Parliament as the Member for Cook, the electorate that covered the Sutherland
Shire where he grew up. He retired from Parliament at the 2007 election.
Despite his extensive Cabinet and other experience, he was never appointed a
Minister by the then Prime Minister, John Howard. His most senior Parliamentary
position was chairing the House of Representatives Standing Committee on
Economics, Finance and Public Administration from 2004 to 2007.
This may have been because Bruce strived to
serve God as well as Mammon. Before pursuing his extensive career in commerce,
he had attempted to become an Anglican priest but failed the medical exam.
Despite this setback, he remained a lifelong
Anglican committed to a pastoral Christianity, a commitment shared by his
family. His wife, Judy, whom he married in 1964, dedicated her life to helping
prisoners, refugees and people experiencing poverty. Their children continued
that tradition of service: Steve led the anti-slavery organisation
International Justice Mission Australia; Mike, former NSW Premier, became CEO
of HammondCare; and Julia, a writer and journalist, helped found the Movement
for the Ordination of Women in the Anglican Church and has written extensively
on religion and social issues.
Bruce’s own work as a Federal MP reflected
these values. He chaired the parliamentary group Amnesty International from
2000 and, along with fellow Liberal MPs Petro Georgiou, Russell Broadbent and
Judi Moylan, opposed mandatory detention of asylum seekers. In June 2005, the 4
MPs negotiated with Prime Minister John Howard over proposals to change the
detention system. The resulting agreement provided for families with children
to move into community accommodation and for the Commonwealth Ombudsman to review
cases of detention exceeding two years, while retaining mandatory detention.
Georgiou, Broadbent and Moylan, like Bruce, never became Howard Government
Ministers.
After leaving Federal Parliament, Bruce
served as Chair of the Tourism and Transport Forum and of the Refugee
Resettlement Advisory Council. He subsequently became a patron of the Asylum
Seekers Centre and served on the boards of the National Apology Foundation, the
Heart Research Institute, the Sydney Opera House and Screen Producers
Australia, among others and as Chair of Business Events Sydney.
Recognition of Bruce’s integrity and
compassion has been a focus of the many tributes following his death. I want to
add the role Bruce played in saving and repurposing Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf.
Built between 1910 and 1915, the Finger Wharf
was major infrastructure serving Sydney’s working harbour until the 1970s.
Despite its significance, both the Unsworth Labor Government and, later, the
Greiner Coalition had policies to demolish it.
I opposed the demolition of the Finger Wharf
and worked with Friends of the Finger Wharf, Jack Mundey and the unions, Milo
Dunphy of the Nature Conservation Council, architects and heritage experts to
stop the demolition of such an important and heroic heritage structure.
After the 1991 NSW state election,
Independents John Hatton, Peter McDonald and I negotiated an agreement with the
Government that involved a Charter of Reform that included reforms such as 4-year
fixed terms of Parliament, whistleblower legislation, and others that increased
transparency and accountability.
Following the signing of the agreement,
Minister Baird met with me and agreed to overturn the government’s policy of
demolishing the Finger Wharf. Instead, he agreed to its restoration and
repurposing.
Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf now accommodates a
hotel, restaurants, bars and residential apartments with public access along the
wharf, ensuring this historic structure remains a vibrant and valued part of
Sydney Harbour.
the Rt. HOn.
CLOVER MOORE AO HON. FRAIA
Lord Mayor of Sydney
Moved by
the Chair (the Lord Mayor), seconded by Councillor Worling –
It is resolved that:
(A)
all
persons attending this meeting of Council observe one minute’s silence to
commemorate the life of Bruce George Baird AM and his significant contribution
to the public life of New South Wales and Australia as a NSW Government
Minister, Member of Federal Parliament, refugee and asylum seeker advocate and
tourism leader
(B)
Council
express its condolences to Bruce’s children, Julia, Mike and Steve
(C)
the
Lord Mayor be requested to write to Bruce’s family to convey Council’s
condolences.
Carried
unanimously.
S051491
Note – All
Councillors, staff and members of the public present stood in silence for one minute
as a mark of respect to Bruce George Baird AM.