Gerard Henderson
Encyclopedia
Gerard Henderson is a conservative Australia
n newspaper columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald
.. He is also Executive Director of the Sydney Institute
, a privately funded current affairs forum. His wife Anne Henderson is Deputy Director.
Xavier College
in Melbourne. He studied Arts and Law at the University of Melbourne
, prior to completing his Ph.D. At the University of Melbourne Henderson was President of the DLP (Democratic Labor Party) Club. Like other political clubs at the University of Melbourne during the 1960s the DLP Club was not affiliated with the political party of the same name
, but supported DLP policies and invited DLP parliamentarians, including the then Senator Jack Little
in 1968, to speak on campus at DLP Club public meetings.
and La Trobe
universities before working for four years on the staff of Kevin Newman
in Malcolm Fraser
's Coalition government.
From 1980 to 1983 he was employed in the Commonwealth Department of Industrial Relations and was Chief-of-Staff to John Howard
between 1984 and 1986 (during which time Howard was Deputy Leader, and later, Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia
). Gerard Henderson was appointed by the Keating
government to the board of the Australia Foundation for Culture and the Humanities and by the Howard government
to the editorial board of the Documents on Australian Foreign Policy series.
As a commentator Henderson is on the conservative
side of politics on issues such as industrial relations, national security and the Iraq War. His columns defended the former Howard government policy on Iraq and national security since the 11 September attacks.
Gerard Henderson is the author of Mr Santamaria and the Bishops (1982), Australian Answers (1990), Gerard Henderson Scribbles On (1993), Menzies' Child: The Liberal Party of Australia (1994, second edition 1998) and A Howard Government? Inside the Coalition (Harper Collins, 1995) - as well as numerous articles and essays. In August 1994 he profiled former Prime Minister Bob Hawke
for the ABC TV Four Corners program.
Henderson is a known critic of The Chaser
satirical news team, voicing his disgust at its attacks on him, his dealings with politicians, and events that he stages at the Sydney Institute.
In an article appearing in "The Sydney Institute Quarterly" (issue 29), Henderson declared John Howard had lost the ongoing culture wars, writing, "In my view, there is only one area where the Coalition has failed to have a significant impact - namely, in what some have termed "the culture wars"." (Henderson, 2006, p. 12)
described Henderson as a "corporate cheerleader" who has worked as "both a public commentator and an intellectual entrepreneur, soliciting funding for the Sydney Institute from companies, law firms and corporate sponsorships."
On the ABC's Insiders program on 23 May 2010, Henderson acknowledged that one unidentified Resource company was among the supporters of the Sydney Institute. The subject under discussion at the time was a new Resource Tax regime. This was a rare concession from Henderson, as his Sydney Institute does not, as a rule, divulge its funding sources. Henderson is regularly described on television as a fuddy-duddy
.
) and The Nation (Sky News) with David Speers.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n newspaper columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
.. He is also Executive Director of the Sydney Institute
Sydney Institute
The Sydney Institute, founded in 1989, is a privately funded, conservative, Australian current affairs forum. The Sydney Institute took over the resources of the Sydney Institute of Public Affairs which ceased activity in the late 1980s...
, a privately funded current affairs forum. His wife Anne Henderson is Deputy Director.
Education
Henderson attended the JesuitSociety of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
Xavier College
Xavier College
Xavier College is a Roman Catholic, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, with its main campus located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
in Melbourne. He studied Arts and Law at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
, prior to completing his Ph.D. At the University of Melbourne Henderson was President of the DLP (Democratic Labor Party) Club. Like other political clubs at the University of Melbourne during the 1960s the DLP Club was not affiliated with the political party of the same name
Democratic Labor Party (historical)
The Democratic Labor Party was an Australian political party that existed from 1955 until 1978.-History:The DLP was formed as a result of a split in the Australian Labor Party that began in 1954. The split was between the party's national leadership, under the then party leader Dr H.V...
, but supported DLP policies and invited DLP parliamentarians, including the then Senator Jack Little
Jack Little (Australian politician)
John Albert "Jack" Little was an Australian politician. Born in Maryborough, Victoria, he was educated at East Brunswick and Thornbury State Primary Schools, before becoming a Clicker in a Shoe factory in Collingwood, and later an official with the Victorian Boot Employees' Union, of which he was...
in 1968, to speak on campus at DLP Club public meetings.
Career
Henderson taught at TasmaniaUniversity of Tasmania
The University of Tasmania is a medium-sized public Australian university based in Tasmania, Australia. Officially founded on 1 January 1890, it was the fourth university to be established in nineteenth-century Australia...
and La Trobe
La Trobe University
La Trobe University is a multi-campus university in Victoria, Australia. It was established in 1964 by an Act of Parliament to become the third oldest university in the state of Victoria. The main campus of La Trobe is located in the Melbourne suburb of Bundoora; two other major campuses are...
universities before working for four years on the staff of Kevin Newman
Kevin Newman (Australian politician)
Kevin Eugene Newman AO was an Australian soldier and politician. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Australian Army, serving in Malaysia and the Vietnam War....
in Malcolm Fraser
Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
's Coalition government.
From 1980 to 1983 he was employed in the Commonwealth Department of Industrial Relations and was Chief-of-Staff to John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
between 1984 and 1986 (during which time Howard was Deputy Leader, and later, Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
). Gerard Henderson was appointed by the Keating
Paul Keating
Paul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. Keating was elected as the federal Labor member for Blaxland in 1969 and came to prominence as the reformist treasurer of the Hawke Labor government, which came to power at the 1983 election...
government to the board of the Australia Foundation for Culture and the Humanities and by the Howard government
Howard Government
The Howard Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard. It was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition, which won a majority of seats in the Australian House of Representatives at four successive elections. The Howard Government...
to the editorial board of the Documents on Australian Foreign Policy series.
As a commentator Henderson is on the conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
side of politics on issues such as industrial relations, national security and the Iraq War. His columns defended the former Howard government policy on Iraq and national security since the 11 September attacks.
Gerard Henderson is the author of Mr Santamaria and the Bishops (1982), Australian Answers (1990), Gerard Henderson Scribbles On (1993), Menzies' Child: The Liberal Party of Australia (1994, second edition 1998) and A Howard Government? Inside the Coalition (Harper Collins, 1995) - as well as numerous articles and essays. In August 1994 he profiled former Prime Minister Bob Hawke
Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....
for the ABC TV Four Corners program.
Henderson is a known critic of The Chaser
The Chaser
The Chaser are an Australian satirical comedian group, known for their television programmes on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation channel. The group take their name from their production of satirical newspaper, a publication known to challenge conventions of taste...
satirical news team, voicing his disgust at its attacks on him, his dealings with politicians, and events that he stages at the Sydney Institute.
In an article appearing in "The Sydney Institute Quarterly" (issue 29), Henderson declared John Howard had lost the ongoing culture wars, writing, "In my view, there is only one area where the Coalition has failed to have a significant impact - namely, in what some have termed "the culture wars"." (Henderson, 2006, p. 12)
Criticism
Henderson has been criticised for perceived conflicts of interest, due to the fact that the Sydney Institute relies almost entirely on corporate sponsorships. In his book, The Electronic Whorehouse, Sydney Morning Herald columnist Paul SheehanPaul Sheehan (journalist)
Paul Sheehan is a conservative Australian columnist and senior writer for the Sydney Morning Herald, where he has been day editor, chief of staff and Washington correspondent...
described Henderson as a "corporate cheerleader" who has worked as "both a public commentator and an intellectual entrepreneur, soliciting funding for the Sydney Institute from companies, law firms and corporate sponsorships."
On the ABC's Insiders program on 23 May 2010, Henderson acknowledged that one unidentified Resource company was among the supporters of the Sydney Institute. The subject under discussion at the time was a new Resource Tax regime. This was a rare concession from Henderson, as his Sydney Institute does not, as a rule, divulge its funding sources. Henderson is regularly described on television as a fuddy-duddy
Fuddy-duddy
A fuddy-duddy, sometimes without the dash, is a person who is fussy while old-fashioned, traditionalist, conformist, or conservative, sometimes almost to the point of eccentricity or geekiness. It is a slang term, mildly derogatory but sometimes affectionate too, that dates to ca...
.
Media appearances
Henderson regularly appears as a commentator on political TV programs such as Insiders (ABCAustralian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
) and The Nation (Sky News) with David Speers.
External links
- Gerard Henderson columns in The Sydney Morning HeraldThe Sydney Morning HeraldThe Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
.