Bruce Baird

Bruce Baird
The Honourable; Bruce Baird; AM
Member of the Australian Parliament; for Cook
	In office; 3 October 1998 – 17 October 2007
Preceded by	Stephen Mutch
Succeeded by	Scott Morrison
Personal details
Born	Bruce George Baird; 28 February 1942; Sydney
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Liberal Party of Australia
Children	Julia Baird; Mike Baird; Steve Baird
Alma mater	University of Sydney ; University of Melbourne
Occupation	Trade commissioner

Bruce George Baird, AM (born 28 February 1942), is a former Australian politician whose career included a stint as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party in New South Wales. He is a patron of the Asylum Seekers Centre, a not-for-profit that provides personal and practical support to people seeking asylum in Australia. [1]

Early life

Baird was born in Sydney, and was educated at the University of Sydney and the University of Melbourne, holding a master's degree in business administration from the latter. He was Assistant Trade Commissioner at the Australian Embassy in Bonn, Germany, 1972–76 and Trade Commissioner at Australian Consulate-General in New York 1977–80. He was Government Affairs Manager for Esso Australia 1980–84.[2]

Political career

Baird was a member for the electorate of Northcott in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 1984–95. He was Minister for Transport 1988–95, Minister for Sydney's Olympic Bid 1990–93 and Minister for Tourism and Roads 1993–95. He was also deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 1992 to 1994.[2]

Baird was a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from October 1998 to November 2007, representing the electorate of Cook, New South Wales. He also held the positions of chairman of the National Rail Corporation, and was a board member of ABN Amro Hoare Govett, Tourism Training Australia and Tourism Education Services.[3] Baird along with fellow Liberal MPs Petro Georgiou, Russell Broadbent and Judi Moylan opposed mandatory detention of asylum seekers.[4]

In April 2007, he announced that he would retire at the next election.[5] A fierce battle over his successor ensued; Michael Towke was initially preselected as the Liberal candidate, but was subsequently disendorsed and replaced with Scott Morrison, who went on to win the seat.

Despite being a former deputy leader of the Liberal Party in New South Wales, Baird never served as a Federal Government minister during his time in Federal Parliament. Baird had been overlooked for promotion by Prime Minister John Howard because he was a supporter of Deputy Liberal leader and Howard's heir apparent Peter Costello.[6]

After politics

Baird was appointed Chairman of the Tourism and Transport Forum, a peak industry lobby group, in 2008. In the same year, he was also appointed as chair of the Refugee Resettlement Advisory Council, which advises the Australian government on resettling refugees in Australia.[7] In 2010 on Australia Day, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for service to the Parliament of Australia, and to the community of New South Wales through a range of business, tourism and welfare organisations.[8] In August 2017, Business Events Sydney announced the appointment of Bruce Baird as their new Chairman, commencing from 1 September 2017.[9]

Baird's children are Steve Baird, Marketing Head for Velocity Frequent Flyer, Julia Baird, columnist with the Sydney Morning Herald and host of ABC News The Drum, and Mike Baird, the Premier of New South Wales from 2014 to 2017.[10] (In fact Bruce himself made an attempt to become Premier when he was a candidate to succeed Nick Greiner in 1992, but lost out to John Fahey.)[11]

Following the financial collapse of a number of providers of education to international students, in 2009 Baird agreed to head up a review into international education in Australia.[12] Baird delivered the report in a joint press conference in March 2010. Included in his recommendations were tighter regulation including stronger entry requirements, improved risk assessment, and where breaches occur, tougher penalties.[13]

Notes

https://asylumseekerscentre.org.au/about-us/patrons/
"Mr Bruce George Baird (1942– )". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
"Biography for BAIRD, the Hon. Bruce George". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 19 February 2010.
"Rebel MPs, Howard fail to agree on detention". The Age. Melbourne. 13 June 2005.
Coorey, Phillip (16 April 2007). "Baird bows out as challenge looms in seat". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 15 April 2007.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/baird-bows-out-as-challenge-looms-in-seat/2007/04/15/1176575687704.html
"The Refugee Resettlement Advisory Council". Archived from the original on 16 September 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
"Baird, Bruce George". It's an Honour. Retrieved 19 February 2010.
"New governance for Business Events Sydney". Business Events Sydney. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
"Baird replaces O'Farrell as NSW premier". Herald Sun. News Corp. 17 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
"Bruce Baird to head up international students review". Media release. Minister for Education. Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. 8 August 2009. Archived from the original on 11 April 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
"Transcript of joint press conference interview" (Transcript). Baird Review into International Education. Commonwealth of Australia. 9 March 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2011.

New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Preceded by Jim Cameron	Member for Northcott 1984–1995	Succeeded by Barry O'Farrell
Political offices
Preceded by Terry Sheahan	Minister for Transport 1988–1995	Succeeded by Brian Langton
Preceded by Robert Webster	Minister for Tourism 1992–1993	Succeeded by Virginia Chadwick
Preceded by Tim Moore	Minister for the Environment 1992	Succeeded by Chris Hartcher
Preceded by Wal Murray	Minister for Roads 1993–1995	Succeeded by Michael Knight
Party political offices
Preceded by Peter Collins	Deputy Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party 1992–1994	Succeeded by Kerry Chikarovski
Parliament of Australia
Preceded by Stephen Mutch	Member for Cook 1998–2007	Succeeded by Scott Morrison

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[1] ttps://asylumseekerscentre.org.au/about-us/patrons/

[nswp-2] "Mr Bruce George Baird (1942– )". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 3 May 2019.

[abio-3] "Biography for BAIRD, the Hon. Bruce George". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 19 February 2010.

[4] "Rebel MPs, Howard fail to agree on detention". The Age. Melbourne. 13 June 2005.

[Retire-5] Coorey, Phillip (16 April 2007). "Baird bows out as challenge looms in seat". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 15 April 2007.

[6] ttp://www.smh.com.au/news/national/baird-bows-out-as-challenge-looms-in-seat/2007/04/15/1176575687704.html

[7] "The Refugee Resettlement Advisory Council". Archived from the original on 16 September 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2011.

[8] "Baird, Bruce George". It's an Honour. Retrieved 19 February 2010.

[9] "New governance for Business Events Sydney". Business Events Sydney. Retrieved 29 August 2017.

[10] "Baird replaces O'Farrell as NSW premier". Herald Sun. News Corp. 17 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.

[12] "Bruce Baird to head up international students review". Media release. Minister for Education. Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. 8 August 2009. Archived from the original on 11 April 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2011.

[13] "Transcript of joint press conference interview" (Transcript). Baird Review into International Education. Commonwealth of Australia. 9 March 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2011.