This is where we'll leave today's live coverage.
Loading...Bill Hayden's state funeral draws Australian politicians to celebrate the Labor luminary who rose from humble beginnings
Loading...
Labor luminary Bill Hayden was remembered as a "remarkable" and "profoundly decent man" who transformed the ALP, and uplifted the lives of many Australians at his state funeral.
The life and legacy of the former governor-general and Labor party leader, who died aged 90 last month, was honoured at a state funeral service at St Mary's Church in Ipswich on Friday.
Former governors-general Quentin Bryce and Peter Cosgrove were among those to farewell Mr Hayden, along with politicians including Annastacia Palaszczuk, Jim Chalmers, Wayne Swan, Pauline Hanson, Cameron Dick and Milton Dick.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, former prime minister Paul Keating and Sister Angela Mary Doyle AO were among those who spoke at the service. Governor-General David Hurley delivered the first reading.
Governor-General David Hurley, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk were among the mourners. (ABC News: Kenji Sato)
Mr Hayden is survived by his wife of 63 years, Dallas, and three of their four children, Georgina, Kirk and Ingrid.
Georgina Hayden delivered an emotional tribute, saying the family had shared their father with everyone, their entire lives.
"Like our father, we don't feel constrained to do the expected thing. Like our father, we question why. Like our father, we wish we could do better, be better," she said.
Dallas Hayden farewells her husband, Bill Hayden, with whom she had four children. (ABC News: Kenji Sato)
"Like our father, we share a singular sense of humour — it's genetic, but we love it.
"Like our father was proud of us, we are proud of him. Like our father, we adore our mother, we cherish our family. Like our father loved us — loves us — we love him."
Speaking to the ABC, Treasurer Jim Chalmers with his predecessors Wayne Swan and John Dawkins reflected on Mr Hayden's economic impact in his time as treasurer and other frontbench roles.
Mr Chalmers said he was "the gold standard in lots of ways" and despite only holding the position of Treasurer for five months, he showed economic responsibility and economic reform go hand-in-hand.
"Without him, that golden reform era that followed him wouldn't have happened,"he said.
Mr Swan said Mr Hayden was more than just the "father of modern Medicare" who changed the "lives of millions of Australians", saying he was also "somebody who could look after and understand working people".
Describing him as a "mentor, an intellectual giant", Mr Dawkins credited Mr Hayden for creating the Hawke government, "which had the guts to take on the great reform tasks, which had been ignored for decades".
Mr Hayden recognised for humility
Political heavyweights, family, friends and members of the public have gathered to commemorate the former governor-general at St Mary's Church in Ipswich. (ABC News: Kenji Sato)
Former prime minister Paul Keating said Mr Hayden's passing was a "huge loss to this country".
"Bill had a big life and he knew he had a big life,"he said.
He said Bill Hayden "resuscitated" the Labor party as a "national force".
"For a self-effacing person not driven by egotism, Bill's re-establishment of federal Labor, as a real and genuine force, is without doubt the crowning achievement of his long public life."
Mr Hayden is survived by his wife of 63 years, Dallas, and three of their four children, Georgina, Kirk and Ingrid. ( ABC News: Kenji Sato )
Albanese reflects on 'legend's' legacy
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Mr Hayden's leadership of the Labor party from 1977 to 1983 gave it the chance of a future.
"He made it possible for Labor to return to its core mission of governing in the national interest and lifting the lives of his fellow Australians," he said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks at former governor-general Bill Hayden's funeral. (ABC News: Kenji Sato)
"Some giants cast a shadow, but Bill Hayden was not one of them.
"With his quiet strength of character, this legend of the Labor movement shone the light that let us see the road ahead.
"We can be grateful that this child of the Depression turned police officer joined the Australian Labor Party to advance his values."
Bill Hayden was a member of Gough Whitlam's cabinet. (AAP Image/Sergio Dionisio)
Mr Albanese acknowledged that many people believed that had Mr Hayden not resigned as Labor leader to make way for Bob Hawke, he would have successfully led the party to election in 1983.
"He may never have resided in The Lodge, but Bill Hayden was the fulcrum on which the Labor Party's fortunes turned for the better," he said.
Political leaders gathered to farewell the former governor-general. ( ABC News: Kenji Sato )
'There was heart and feeling in what he did'
The service was held at St Mary's Church in Ipswich, the church where Mr Hayden was baptised as a Catholic in 2018 after walking away from his staunch atheism later in life.
Live Moment
Look back at how ABC readers and other Australians responded to this live moment.
Sister Doyle, who Mr Hayden once credited as being pivotal in him finding faith later in life, also delivered words of remembrance at the service.
She said Mr Hayden was "determined to work for the betterment of society", and had many strengths, including "humility and compassion".
"Quite quickly, I came to see him as one who never sought publicity or public acknowledgement for any of his actions.
"It was his recognition of a need, developing the means to address it, and seeing these through — this is what motivated Bill Hayden and was one of the reasons why he was loved by so many.
"People knew he cared for them. He valued people. There was heart and feeling in what he did."
Bill Hayden, then governor-general, escorts Pope John Paul II in Sydney in 1995 for the beatification of Mary MacKillop. (AAP/Supplied by the National Archives of Australia)
During the service, Acting Commissioner Tracy Linford awarded Mr Hayden with a Queensland Police Service medal, in acknowledgement of his service to the community.
The service concluded with a guard of honour by Australia's Federation Guard, soldiers and aviators from the Royal Australian Air Force Base Amberley and students at St Mary's College and St Edmund's College.
A fly-past by the Royal Australian Air Force marked the end of the procession.
Loading...