Veteran broadcaster and senator Derryn Hinch dies aged 82
The larger-than-life personality was best known for his work on the radio before pivoting into politics.
Derryn Hinch, who referred to himself as the Human Headline because of his penchant for courting controversy, has died aged 82.
The New Zealand-born radio host, who dabbled in acting and politics, died in his sleep on Friday morning.
His former colleague and personal assistant Annette Philpott confirmed his death in a post on his Facebook page, saying he had “got his wish and passed away in his own bed”.
“It is with great sadness that I let you know our dearest Derryn passed away in his sleep this morning,” the post read.
“To every one of his online friends and followers he loved the interaction and looked forward to every post.
“As he would say, ‘That’s Life’.”
In an earlier statement to the Daily Mail, Philpott said the veteran broadcaster had struggled with his health.
“He’s had really tough times of late. He’s been in and out of hospital. I’m assuming his heart just gave out,” Philpott said.
Australian TV and radio commentator Peter Ford led the tributes, saying he was “deeply saddened” by the news.
“What a life and career. Fearless and provocative. He achieved all he wanted to do in life. RIP,” he wrote on X.
Veteran 3AW newsreader Tony Tardio also paid tribute to Hinch.
“He was a broadcaster with no fear. They don’t exist anymore. RIP Derryn,” he wrote.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was among those paying tribute to Hinch, describing him as a fearless journalist who lived “a life rich in colour”.
“Derryn Hinch lived a life rich in colour and free from fear,” Albanese said.
“As an interviewer, investigator and presenter he was much more than ‘the Human Headline’ he had a sense of the deeper story and the courage to cover it, come what may.
“He held to those same instincts as a Senator and he fought illness with that same bravery.
“My sincere condolences to his family and his many friends.”
Veteran broadcaster and former senator Derryn Hinch dies aged 82
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said Hinch had lived “a life made for the front page”, describing him as a fearless advocate for victims.
“The thing about Derryn was that you never had to wonder what he thought. He told you straight,” she said.
Allan said Hinch “never shied from a fight” and praised his work campaigning for victims of child sexual abuse and stronger legal protections.
She ended her tribute with words Hinch had once chosen for his own epitaph.
“Derryn recently said he wanted only two words on his headstone,” she said.
“‘He tried.’
“He succeeded.
“Vale Derryn Hinch.”
Hinch was best known for his work on the airwaves, hosting various radio shows in Melbourne and Sydney over four decades.
He broadcast from 3AW for much of the 1980s and 1990s and had further stints in the 2000s and 2010s.
In August 2012, it was announced his contract would not be replaced and Tom Elliott would take the coveted position on the station’s Drive program.
In 2015, Hinch established the Derryn Hinch Justice Party — its central platform being a hard-line approach to law and order — and he was elected to the Australian Senate in 2016.
He would hold the seat for three years but the party, continuing its focus on justice system reforms, still puts forward candidates.
Though he had a colourful professional life, it was controversies that brought him to become a household name.
The scandals primarily stemmed from his devil-may-care attitude to naming and shaming alleged pedophiles, often before legal processes had run their course — or had even begun.
In 1985, the broadcaster publicly named convicted child sex offender Michael Glennon after learning he was to be tried on new charges while still running a youth camp.
Naming Glennon broke sub judice rules, resulting in contempt of court charges and a delay in Glennon’s trial.
Hinch was fined $10,000 and jailed for 12 days.
He appealed the decision as far as the High Court of Australia, which affirmed his conviction.
Not to be deterred, the broadcaster would call the incident the “thing I’m most proud of in my life”.
In 2011, Hinch was convicted of breaching two more suppression orders against the names of two sex offenders.
He was sentenced to five months house arrest — and continued to broadcast his radio program from home.
Possibly his biggest controversy came when he was found guilty of contempt of court for breaching a suppression order, when he revealed details of the criminal history of the killer of Irish woman Jill Meagher in Melbourne.
Hinch had published, on his “Human Headline” blog, that convicted rapist and murderer Adrian Bayley had been on parole when he killed Ms Meagher in 2012.
As a result of publishing the information, Hinch was given 90 days to pay a $100,000 or face going to jail.
The day before the 90-day deadline expired, Hinch advised he would not be paying the fine on “principle”.
He was imprisoned and, after 50 days, was released.
Health issues
Well before this time, Hinch’s health had started to decline.
In 2006, he rapidly lost weight which was later revealed to be due to a tumour on his liver.
It would eventually be revealed to be inoperable liver cancer.
Doctors gave him a 60 per cent chance to survive surgery in 2010 that would result in the removal of one-third of his liver.
On a radio broadcast, he told listeners he only had a year to live without the operation.
In July 2011, he would undergo a successful liver transplant surgery.
Personal life
Hinch was married five times, including twice to Academy Award-nominated actress Jacki Weaver.
The couple married first in 1983 before splitting up in 1996.
But the year after they divorced, they remarried – until that union, which lasted only a year, also ended.
The couple is said to have remained best friends.
Hinch’s most recent marriage was to Chanel Hayton from 2006 to 2012.