Russ Hinze

The Hon Russell James Hinze (June 19, 1919 - June 29, 1991), born in Oxenford on the Gold Coast, was a Queensland politician in the 1970s and 1980s. He presided over an era of controversy that included the setting up of the Racing Development Fund, ministerial rezonings and the licensing of Jupiters Casino. One of Hinze's favourite sayings was "Never hold an inquiry unless you know what the outcome will be" [Ten Years After Fitzgerald (Bill Gunn)] .

Hinze's career in public life spanned almost four decades, first in local government in the 1950s and 1960s, and then in State Government from 1966 to 1988.

Apart from his early years, he spent a life-time living and working in the Oxenford area, where he was born. Russ Hinze was a dairy-farmer who, after becoming chairman of theSouth Coast Cooperative Dairy Association, was elected to the Albert Shire Council in the early 1950s.

He served as shire chairman for nine years between 1958 and 1967. In 1966, Russ Hinze entered the State political arena as the member for South Coast, representing the then Country Party. After eight years as a backbench member of the coalition Government, he was promoted to Cabinet and quickly established a high profile as a corrupt, self-serving empire-builder.

In 1971, whilst still on the back bench, Hinze was part of a plot within the Country Party parliamentary wing to topple Joh Bjelke-Petersen that failed only through the votes of Bjelke-Petersen himself and two proxies.

Between 1974 and 1987, he was Minister for Local Government and Main Roads, from 1980 to 1987, he was Minister for Racing and between 1980 and 1982, he was Minister for Police, a portfolio allocation which earned him the commonly known title of 'Minister for Everything' [Hansard, 16 July 1991, p. 6, 10, 14]

In February 1988, Hinze resigned from State Parliament due to being mentioned in the Fitzgerald Inquiry conducted into the corruption scandal of the Bjelke-Petersen era of politics.

Hinze was known as 'the father of the modern Gold Coast'Fact|date=April 2007, but his political career was controversial [Hansard, 16 July 1991, p. 7] . Hinze Dam was named in honour of the Hinze Family who lived in the valley that was flooded by the dam.

He died on 28 June 1991 and was buried in Lower Coomera cemetery, Gold Coast.

After his death in 1991 Queensland Deputy Premier T.J. Burns remembered him in parliament with the following anecdote: "The best cartoon of him was the one that showed him as a bulldog. I saw him on television describing why he would rather be a bulldog than a mouse, but he was shown as a bulldog with dark glasses and a white cane outside a casino and brothel in the Valley that had a flashing neon light, saying he did not know there were any there."

Russ Hinze is the grandfather of model Kristy Hinze

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References

*cite web | author=Queensland Legislative Assembly | title=Queensland Legislative Assembly Hansard | work=16 July 1991 | url=http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/LCARC/view/legislativeAssembly/hansard/documents/1991/910716ha.pdf | accessdate=January 17 | accessyear=2006
*cite web | title=ABC Radio National | work=Queensland: Ten Years After Fitzgerald | url=http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/bbing/stories/s26032.htm | accessdate=January 17 | accessyear=2006