Labor powerbroker Graham Richardson to be honoured with state funeral after death on Saturday
Labor powerhouse, senator and Sky News political commentator Graham Richardson will be given a state funeral after his death aged 76 on Saturday.
Anthony Albanese said on Monday that Mr Richardson’s wife Amanda had accepted the government’s offer of a state funeral.
Details regarding when and where the funeral will be held have not yet been finalized.
“Amanda contacted me this morning. She accepted the offer of a future state funeral for Graham,” the Prime Minister told reporters in Canberra.
“We will make an appropriate announcement once these details are resolved.
“It’s also true that when I discussed Graham’s wishes with Amanda, she responded by saying she thought he and Graham would live forever. It was kind of like that.”
Mr Albanese said he would attend the funeral depending on when it was held.
“Obviously the priority will be to set a date that suits the family,” he said.
“Of course, if I can be there, I will be there. I have various events coming up, including attending the G20.”
He described Mr Richardson as a “Labour legend” and someone who made a “tremendous difference” as a minister in the Hawke and Keating governments, particularly as environment minister.
“I think the Labor Party, more than anyone else, is responsible for being the party of the natural environment and protecting the natural environment.”
“He fought politics hard within and on behalf of the Labor Party.”
He was seen as a central figure in Labour’s leadership coup in 1991; This coup resulted in Bob Hawke being replaced by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Paul Keating.
Mr Richardson later became a political commentator and a regular contributor to Sky News Australia.
He died early Saturday after years of health problems.
But he had promised to wait until his son D’Arcy completed his HSC exams on Thursday.
2GB presenter Ben Fordham told the station on Saturday: “When he had a major health scare, he told his wife Amanda, ‘I’m going to live until Darcy has finished his exams and his HSC.'” 2GB presenter Ben Fordham told the station on Saturday.
“Darcy had her last HSC exam on Thursday, it was her French exam. And Richo died this morning.”
The outspoken political power broker had struggled with health problems for years, dating back to his cancer diagnosis in the 1990s.
He had been a central and at times controversial figure in NSW Labor Party politics for decades.
In his early years he was widely known as a “numbers man”, as leader of the NSW Labor Right faction and the NSW right-wing faction.
In 1983, he became the youngest elected senator at the time.
Former governor general and one-time federal Labor leader Bill Hayden called Richardson the “minister responsible for the kneecaps” because of his feared reputation as a power broker and chamber enforcer.
He held various positions in the Hawke and Keating governments and is credited with securing greater protection for native forests in Tasmania, in addition to heritage listing as environment minister for the Daintree Rainforest in Queensland and Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory.
Mr. Richardson’s career was not without controversy. He was accused of tax evasion due to his connections with Sydney stockbroker Rene Rivkin.
The workplace burned down in a fire in 1993.
In 2003 the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced it was examining whether Richardson, Rivkin and businessman Trevor Kennedy held an undisclosed 38 per cent stake in the Sydney business.
Richardson denied any involvement, and the watchdog’s investigation was later canceled following Rivkin’s death in 2005.
Richardson was also caught up in cash in the comments scandal in the early 2000s.
