Gerard Leslie Hand (30 June 1942 – 15 November 2023) was an Australian politician, who was a

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

member of the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Australian Senate, Senate. Its composition and powers are set out in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. ...

, representing the seat of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. He was Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs in the Third Hawke Ministry, and Minister for Immigration, Local Government and Ethnic Affairs in the

Fourth Hawke Ministry The fourth Hawke ministry (Labor) was the 57th ministry of the Government of Australia. It was led by the country's 23rd Prime Minister, Bob Hawke. The fourth Hawke ministry succeeded the third Hawke ministry, which dissolved on 4 April 1990 ...

and

First Keating Ministry The first Keating ministry (Labor) was the 58th ministry of the Government of Australia. It was led by the country's 24th Prime Minister, Paul Keating. The first Keating ministry succeeded the fourth Hawke ministry, which dissolved on 20 Dece ...

. Hand died in Melbourne on 15 November 2023, at the age of 81.

Minister for Aboriginal Affairs

As Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Hand notably clashed with the Secretary of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, outspoken Aboriginal activist Charles Perkins, and Perkins resigned from the department in 1988 after being accused of misadministration.

Minister for Immigration, Local Government and Ethnic Affairs

Gerry Hand was the immigration minister who, in 1992, introduced the controversial policy of mandatory detention for illegal arrivals and asylum seekers.

I believe it is crucial that all persons who come to Australia without prior authorisation not be released into the community. Their release would undermine the Government's strategy for determining their refugee claims or entry claims. Indeed, I believe it is vital to Australia that this be prevented as far as possible. The Government is determined that a clear signal be sent that migration to Australia may not be achieved by simply arriving in this country and expecting to be allowed into the community.

After retiring from politics in 1993, Hand represented Australia before the

United Nations High Commission for Refugees The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, l ...

and a round table discussion on refugees organised by the Government of

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. He was also a member of the Immigration Detention Advisory Group, providing advice to the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship on the services, accommodation and amenities at the immigration detention centres.The IDAG Members

Department of Immigration and Citizenship (Australia) The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) was an Australian government department that existed between January 2007 and September 2013, that was preceded by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs and was s ...

In 1995, the Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate, Senator Robert Ray, suggested Hand as a possible replacement to Barry Jones as President of the ALP but this suggestion never eventuated.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hand, Gerry 1942 births 2023 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Melbourne Members of the Australian House of Representatives Australian MPs 1983–1984 Australian MPs 1984–1987 Australian MPs 1987–1990 Australian MPs 1990–1993