Graham Richardson

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Graham Richardson (born September 27, 1949, in Sydney, Australia) is a former Labor politician who was a 'numbers man' for the right wing of the New South Wales branch of the Australian Labor Party. He was highly effective in this position and became known as a 'king maker'. Former Prime Minister Bob Hawke said he was helped twice by Richardson, first to become Prime Minister and then to become not Prime Minister.

Richardson was elected to the Australian Senate in the elections of March 1983, as a Senator for New South Wales and became Minister for the Environment in March 1987 as part of the Third Hawke ministry. He was Minister for Health in Paul Keating's Government until he resigned on 18 May 1992 over the Marshall Islands affair. He resigned from parliament on 25 March 1994.

Remembered more as a behind-the-scenes 'powerbroker', Richardson is now primarily seen by the Australian public through election night television coverage. He is currently a political commentator for the Nine Network and broadcaster with 2GB.

Richardson was implicated in a 'cash for comment' scandal in Australian radio broadcasting, where some radio personalities were found to be promoting certain companies while on the companies' payroll, but having kept the deal secret from listeners to make it look like the comments were genuine opinion/editorial. Richardson was being paid by Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (PBL), and spruiked for PBL-owned companies Channel 9 and Crown Casino during his radio show.

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Graham Richardson

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