Sir Eardley Max Bingham (18 March 1927 – 30 November 2021), was an Australian politician. He was

Deputy Premier A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

and Opposition Leader of Tasmania, who represented the electorate of Denison for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a l ...

in the

Tasmanian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Legislative Council or Upper House. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart. The Assembly has 25 ...

from 1969 to 1984..

Early life and education

Born at the

Queen Alexandra Hospital The Queen Alexandra Hospital (commonly known as QA Hospital, QAH or simply QA) is a large NHS hospital in Portsmouth, Hampshire. Located in Cosham, it is run by Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust and has a Ministry of Defence Hospital U ...

Battery Point Battery Point is a suburb of the city of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It is immediately south of the central business district. It is in the local government area of City of Hobart. Battery Point is named after the battery of guns which were e ...

, Hobart, Bingham was the only son of Mr and Mrs Thomas Bingham of Sandy Bay. He was educated in New South Wales and Tasmania, completing his secondary schooling with four years at Hobart High School. At the age of 18, he enlisted in the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

in April 1945, and served as an

able seaman An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination ...

at shore stations including , and the auxiliary anti-submarine vessel , until his discharge in December 1946.BINGHAM, EARDLEY MAX
''World War II Nominal Roll'', Department of Veterans' Affairs. He was selected as the 1950 Tasmanian

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

. In that year, he graduated with a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of ...

with honours from the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...

. Bingham read for and received a

Bachelor of Civil Law Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL, or B.C.L.; la, Baccalaureus Civilis Legis) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and C ...

Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, situated on Turl Street in central Oxford. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, t ...

. Whilst at Oxford, Bingham met and married Margaret Jesson of Staffordshire (he had previously been engaged to Rhonda Harvey). He returned to Hobart in 1953, where he practised alongside

Reg Wright Sir Reginald Charles Wright (10 July 190510 March 1990) was an Australian barrister and politician. He was a member of the Liberal Party and served as a Senator for Tasmania from 1950 to 1978. He held ministerial office in the Gorton and ...

, to whom he was

articled Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

at the University of Tasmania.

Political career

Bingham entered the Tasmanian Parliament when he was elected as a member for Denison at the 1969 state election on 10 May. On 26 May, he was made a minister in Angus Bethune's cabinet, becoming Attorney-General and Minister Administering the Police Department and the Licensing Act; also briefly holding the Health and Road Safety portfolio from March to May 1972.Ministers – House of Assembly – 1950 to 1989
Parliament of Tasmania. On 4 May 1972, he was elected leader of the Liberal Party in Tasmania (and opposition leader), following Bethune's resignation. He contested two elections as opposition leader (

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phil ...

and

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

), but stood down as leader after the Liberal Party's two losses. Bingham's replacement as Liberal leader, Geoff Pearsall, resigned and was replaced by Robin Gray in November 1981. Gray led the Liberals to victory in the 1982 election, and Bingham was appointed

and Attorney-General in Gray's cabinet (as well as Minister for Education, Industrial Relations, and Police and Emergency Services).Cockburn, Milton
Robin Gray: the drover's dog gets the glittering prize
''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 26 July 1983.

After politics

Bingham resigned from parliament on 13 June 1984, and subsequently joined the

National Crime Authority The National Crime Authority (NCA) was an Australian law enforcement agency established in 1984 and wound up on 31 December 2002. History The NCA was set up in 1984 in the wake of the Costigan Commission, which investigated tax evasion and or ...

, a federal law enforcement body focussing on organised crime. In 1989, he was a founding commissioner of the Criminal Justice Commission in QueenslandThe term of Sir Max Bingham QC, Chairman of the Criminal Justice Commission : report of the Parliamentary Criminal Justice Committee.
Queensland Legislative Assembly.Criminal Justice Committee, 1991.—responsible for a review into the powers of the

Queensland Police The Queensland Police Service (QPS) is the principal law enforcement agency responsible for policing the Australian state of Queensland. In 1990, the Queensland Police Force was officially renamed the Queensland Police Service and the old motto ...

recommended by the

Fitzgerald Inquiry The Commission of Inquiry into Possible Illegal Activities and Associated Police Misconduct (the Fitzgerald Inquiry; 1987–1989) into Queensland Police corruption was a judicial inquiry presided over by Tony Fitzgerald QC. The inquiry resulte ...

. Bingham's report for the CJC was released in 1994. In 1996, Bingham was assigned to chair a further review on police powers in Queensland, which he commented were "...unsatisfactory because the police are uncertain of their powers and suspects are uncertain about their rights." The committee's recommendations on legislation of police powers and extensive community consultation led to the passing of the ''Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 1997''.Benjamin, Ken
Modern policing essence of legislation changes
''Vedette'' (Queensland Police Bulletin). He died in Hobart on 30 November 2021, at the age of 94.

Honours

Max Bingham was knighted in the Queen's Birthday Honours on 15 June 1988, with the citation "In recognition of service to the law, crime prevention, parliament and the community".BINGHAM, Max
''It's an Honour'', 15 June 1988. He was awarded the

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate ...

in 2001.BINGHAM, Eardley Max
''It's an Honour'', 1 January 2001. On 15 April 1991, the Governor of Tasmania granted Bingham the right to use the title '

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style (ma ...

' for life.Tasmanian Members of Parliament who have been granted the right to use the title 'Honourable' for life
Parliament of Tasmania.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bingham, Max 1927 births 2021 deaths Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly Deputy Premiers of Tasmania Attorneys-General of Tasmania Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Tasmania Australian Knights Bachelor Australian politicians awarded knighthoods Recipients of the Centenary Medal 20th-century King's Counsel Australian Rhodes Scholars Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford University of Tasmania alumni Royal Australian Navy sailors Royal Australian Navy personnel of World War II Politicians from Hobart Australian King's Counsel