Baird grew up in Cronulla,where his father owned the local shoe store.[1] He was educated at Winston College,Cronulla Public School and Sutherland Intermediate High School,before studying for a Bachelor of Arts at University of Sydney.[1][2] He later studied at 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,from 1972–1976,then Trade Commissioner at the Australian Consulate-General in New York,1977–1980.[3] He was Government Affairs Manager for Esso Australia 1980–1984.[4]
Political career
Baird was elected as member for the electorate of Northcott in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1984. He was appointed as Shadow Minister for Transport and Finance in May 1986. Following the election of the Greiner Government in 1988,he was appointed as Minister for Transport.[4] He was later appointed as Minister for Sydney's Olympic Bid 1990–1993.[citation needed]. Baird made an attempt to become Premier when he was a candidate to succeed Nick Greiner in 1992,but lost out to John Fahey.[5] He was also deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 1992 to 1994 and served as Minister for Tourism from 1992 to 1993 and as Minister for Roads from 1993 to 1995.[4]
Despite being a former deputy leader of the NSW Liberal Party,Baird never served as a minister during his time in Federal Parliament.[2] Baird had been overlooked for ministerial preferment by Prime Minister John Howard because he was a supporter of deputy Liberal leader and Howard's heir apparent Peter Costello.[8]
Another factor that precluded Baird's promotion by Howard was that Baird's preselection for Cook prior to the 1998 election came against Howard's wishes as Howard had supported the previous Liberal member and preselected candidate for Cook,Stephen Mutch.[9]
Sensing that he would not be promoted by Howard,Baird in 2004 sought to become Speaker but was unsuccessful with David Hawker chosen as the Government's candidate for Speaker instead.[10]
In April 2007,he announced that he would retire at the next election.[8] A fierce battle over his successor ensued;Michael Towke was initially preselected as the Liberal candidate 86 votes to 8 but was the target of several negative news reports,before being replaced with Scott Morrison,who went on to win the seat.[11]
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.[12] 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.[13] In August 2017,Business Events Sydney announced the appointment of Baird as their new Chairman,commencing from 1 September 2017.[14]
Following the financial collapse of a number of private providers of education to international students,in 2009 Baird agreed to head up a review into international education in Australia.[17] 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.[18]
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.[19]
The Division of Cook is an Australian electoral division in the State of New South Wales.
John Joseph Fahey AC was an Australian politician who served as Premier of New South Wales from 1992 to 1995 and as the federal Minister for Finance from 1996 to 2001. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1984 to 1996 and the federal House of Representatives from 1996 to 2001. Fahey also served as president of the World Anti-Doping Agency and later became chancellor of the Australian Catholic University.
Nicholas Frank Hugo Greiner is an Australian politician who served as the 37th Premier of New South Wales from 1988 to 1992. Greiner was Leader of the New South Wales Division of the Liberal Party from 1983 to 1992 and Leader of the Opposition from 1983 to 1988. Greiner had served as the Federal President of the Liberal Party of Australia from 2017 to 2020. He served as the Consul-General in the United States of America, New York from 2021 to 2023.
Kerry Anne Chikarovski is an Australian former politician who served as leader of the Liberal Party in New South Wales and Leader of the Opposition between 1998 and 2002, the first woman to hold the post.
Barry Robert O'Farrell is an Australian former politician who was Australia's High Commissioner to India and non-resident Ambassador to Bhutan from February 2020 to 30 June 2023. O'Farrell was the 43rd Premier of New South Wales and Minister for Western Sydney from 2011 to 2014. He was the Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party from 2007 to 2014, and was a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1995 to 2015, representing Northcott until 1999 and representing Ku-ring-gai on the Upper North Shore of Sydney from 1999 to 2015. He was President and Independent Board Chair of Diabetes Australia, Chair of the Wests Tigers Rugby League Football Club and CEO of Racing Australia Ltd until taking up his role in India.
Ian Malcolm Macphee AO is an Australian former politician. He held ministerial office in the Fraser government as Minister for Productivity (1976–1979), Immigration and Ethnic Affairs (1979–1982), and Minister for Employment and Youth Affairs (1982–1983). He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1974 to 1990, representing the Liberal Party. He was known for his contributions in developing Australian multiculturalism as immigration minister and for being one of the most prominent "small-l" liberals within the Liberal Party.
Andrew John Stoner, an Australian former politician, was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Oxley from 1999 state election to 2015.
Northcott was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales between 1968 and 1999.
Andrew James Constance is an Australian politician who represented Bega for the Liberal Party in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly between 2003 and December 2021.
Anthony John Roberts is an Australian politician. Roberts is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Lane Cove for the Liberal Party since 2003. He is the longest-serving Member of the Legislative Assembly and so holds the honorary title of "Father of the House."
Bradley Ronald "Brad" Hazzard is a retired Australian politician who served as the member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly district of Wakehurst between May 1991 and March 2023.
Captain Peter Edward James Collins, was the Leader of the Opposition in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 4 April 1995 to 8 December 1998.
Raymond Craig Williams is an Australian politician who has been a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing the seat of Kellyville for the Liberal Party since 2023. He previously represented the electorates of Hawkesbury from 2007 to 2015 and Castle Hill from 2015 to 2023.
Stephen Bruce Mutch is an Australian academic, and former politician with an academic interest in cultic organisations. A member of the Liberal Party, he served in the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1988 to 1996 and represented the seat of Cook in the House of Representatives from 1996 to 1998.
David Amos Arblaster was a New South Wales politician, Minister for Culture, Sport and Recreation and Minister for Tourism in the cabinet of Sir Eric Willis until the Liberal party lost the 1976 election. Arblaster was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for the Electoral district of Mosman in 1972 and served until his retirement in 1984.
Stuart Laurence Ayres is an Australian politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 19 June 2010 to 25 March 2023, representing the electorate of Penrith as a member of the Liberal Party.
The O'Farrell ministry was the 93rd ministry of the Government of New South Wales, and was led by Barry O'Farrell, the state's 43rd Premier.
Mark Raymond Speakman is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly since 2011, representing Cronulla for the Liberal Party. On 21 April 2023, he became the Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Liberal Party in New South Wales.
Sarah Ann Mitchell, an Australian politician, is the former Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning in the second Berejiklian ministry and in the Perrottet ministry. She has been a Nationals member of the New South Wales Legislative Council since March 2011.
The Baird ministry (2014–2015) or First Baird ministry was the 94th ministry of the Government of New South Wales, and was led by Mike Baird, the state's 44th Premier.
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