The life of a Labor powerbroker

Former senator Graham Richardson diedAs he lived at 76: inspiring endless euphemisms. Headlines over the weekend pointed to the passing of the “hard-nosed” “power broker,” the “kingmaker,” the “Kneecap Senator” who would do “Whatever It Takes.” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described Richardson’s life as “often colorful, sometimes controversial”.

Its impact is undoubtedly huge; As the “numbers man” who helped give Australia two prime ministers, organized Bob Hawke’s sacking of Bill Hayden and subjected Hawke to the same treatment in favor of Paul Keating less than a decade later.