5 February | Whatever It Takes - Richo in Conversation
Welcome to PremierNational’s new regular monthly newsletter where Director, Ilana Waldman sits down with Labor legend, powerbroker and PremierNational Special Counsel, Graham Richardson, to get his views on the topical issues in politics. For this first introductory edition, we are exploring the man behind the political legend and focusing on Richo himself.
Look out for future editions, where we will film Richo so you can get it straight from the horse’s mouth!
You were born into a household where union and Labor politics were the main topics of conversation, do you think there was a particular moment of your childhood and adolescence that you remember as formative?
Yes. I was at my local branch meeting, Monterey Branch of the ALP. I moved a resolution condemning the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia and I only narrowly won. So, I looked around that room at the people that didn't vote for it and not many of them survived the next year.
I thought, “You shouldn’t be in the Labor party, so I am going to get you.” That's what I thought and I did and I don't regret it.
You have held a real variety of ministerial portfolios including Environment, Arts, Sport, Tourism and Territories, Social Security, Transport and Communications and Health. Which was the portfolio you most enjoyed?
It's such a toss-up. Probably in the end I've got to stick with environment, but health was pretty good.
Which was the portfolio where you are most proud of your legacy?
There is no question that it’s environment. Twenty-one percent of Tasmanian World Heritage is not a bad legacy. I did things that I think stand the test of time as really good decisions and I'm proud of those.
[Note: Richo secured protection for vast swathes of forest in north-west Tasmania, as well as the world heritage listing of Queensland's Daintree Forest and the Northern Territory's Kakadu National Park.]
Looking back, if you could change one thing in your political career or do one thing differently, what would it be?
When I was first in Government I didn’t have a lot of expertise at issuing grants and following it through and so I think I stuffed up with one grant of $70,000 – I didn’t follow it through and the company effectively stole the money. I would definitely do that one over again.
You and Michael Photios are respectively known as the key Labor and Liberal powerbrokers. What does that involve?
Well it means that you set agendas, you make policy and you make people.
Why do you think that the more ‘behind the scenes’ role is the one you were attracted to?
There's nothing behind the scenes when you're the General Secretary of the Australian Labor Party and there are 900 delegates at the Sydney Town Hall.
It’s like removing Bill Hayden as the Leader of the Opposition, that was a nasty business, but it had to be done. And I just kind of had that role. I don't know why, but I just had that role.
Maybe because you had the guts?
Yes, that’s probably part of it. I didn’t mind people hating me. My view is fuck them, that’s my view.
How have you sustained your influence now that you have left politics?
I still have some, yes. You can’t sustain all that you have had, but I still have influence there is no doubt about that. I'm still getting phone calls, making calls and all that sort of stuff. So yes, I've still got influence. And I'll keep it.
And you enjoy it?
Yeah…. Well when you say you enjoy, it's just me!
Sky News is not a retail offering but more of a voice to the political class. Why have you appeared and featured on it in your regular spots?
I think it’s a very important place, Sky News with all its leaders on air and opinion leaders in Australia listening to Sky News. Everyone of that ilk has it on twenty-four seven. I always had it on all day – it’s background noise.
Many people wouldn’t know that you have kept direct personal contact with several Liberal leaders, including Morrison, Dutton and Crisafulli. Why have you done that?
You can't judge a person by whether they're Labor or Liberal. You've got to judge a person by their own personal merits or lack thereof. I can't see why I can't have Liberal friends.
Dutton and Crisafulli are mates. I'm very fond of both of them. Dutton’s a great fella. I admire Dutton, I mean he’s got that seat, a 2% margin that he has held for twenty years while 6 and 7% seats around him fell. Now that in itself is remarkable.
Which past Australian political figure (alive or dead) do you look up to the most?
Jack Lang. I think bringing in some social security for the first time was just huge. Only someone with that breadth of imagination and commitment could do it. Keating loved him.
Your view on the Greens?
The Greens will still be around. They represent that hardline ten percent of Australians who are hard left wing. There's only ten percent. It doesn't grow, it doesn't get 15 and 20, it stays at ten. And the Greens have that. And they're welcome to it.
Which past and current political figures (alive or dead) would you most like to have a dinner party with?
You would want Tony Blair. You would also want Nelson Mandela – I met him a few times, you would definitely want Mandela. Bob Carr, got to have Bob, see Bob’s just so entertaining. I’d have Neville Wran too and Brian Burke. Brian Burke is a great mate of mine still, I think he’s a great fellow.
Is there something about Richo that the public is not aware of that you are willing to disclose?
I don’t think so, I’m a pretty open book….
No phobias perhaps?
Richo thinks about this, but before he can speak Richos’s wife Amanda yells “Exercise” from the kitchen, and Richo is forced to concede the truth of this statement….
When reading your book, “Whatever it Takes”, I was incredibly struck by the fact that you were taught at an early age that loyalty was everything. Do you think that this ideal survives in politics today?
I think loyalty is still everything to me. I think it has diminished a little in Australian politics, but to me it will always be the main enduring theme that I've tried to stick by.
Are you a voracious reader?
Editor’s note: Here Richo was not at all keen to admit it, but it was clear that he is indeed a voracious reader like Brereton and Keating. Every time we speak he mentions another tome that he has read.
Do you still believe that there is no value for forgiveness in politics?
Look, I probably do. I know I shouldn't, but I think I probably do. I think the old saying, anyone that will rat on you once, will rat on you twice. So no, you don't forgive them.
The Hon Graham Richardson AO, better known simply as "Richo", is widely considered one of Australia's sharpest and best-connected political commentators.
Richo has been a central figure in NSW Labor politics for more than 50 years, carving out a reputation as a numbers man for the NSW Right before becoming ALP State Secretary and later entering the Senate in 1983.
Richardson held several portfolios as Minister and is best remembered for securing increased protection for native forests in Tasmania, as well as the world heritage listing of Queensland's Daintree Forest and Kakadu National Park in the Nothern Territory.
In 2020, Richardson was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to the Parliament of Australia, his subsequent career as a political commentator, as well as his philanthropic support of the Fred Hollows Foundation and the Asthma Foundation.
Currently, Richardson is a political commentator across all programs on Sky News, writes for The Australian newspaper and is a sought-after commentator for election night television coverage.
Explore some of Richo’s appearances on Sky News, including his most recent commentary, in the video linked below.
