William Michael Hodgman AM QC (16 November 193819 June 2013) was an Australian politician and lawyer. He was a member of 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 ...

and served as Minister for the Capital Territory in the Fraser Government from 1980 to 1983. He was active in both state and federal politics, serving in the

Tasmanian Legislative Council The Tasmanian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. It is one of the two chambers of the Parliament, the other being the House of Assembly. Both houses sit in Parliament House in the state capital, ...

(1966–1974),

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 established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Austra ...

(1975–1987), and

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 ...

(1992–1998, 2002–2010). His son

Will Hodgman William Edward Felix Hodgman (born 20 April 1969) is an Australian diplomat and former politician who has been the High Commissioner of Australia to Singapore since February 2021. He was the 45th Premier of Tasmania and a member for the Divisio ...

was Premier of Tasmania for 6 years, until his resignation in January 2020.

Early career and education

Michael Hodgman was born at Hobart,

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, in 1938. He was educated at

The Hutchins School , motto_translation = Character lives after death , city = Hobart , state = Tasmania , country = Australia , coordinates = , type = Independent, day & boarding , d ...

and 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 ...

, where 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 ...

degree in 1962. Whilst at university, Hodgman served as vice president of the Tasmania University Law Society and editor of the university newspaper '' Togatus''.

Legal career

After graduation, Hodgman was admitted to the Bar of the

Supreme Court of Tasmania The Supreme Court of Tasmania is the highest State court in the Australian State of Tasmania. In the Australian court hierarchy, the Supreme Court of Tasmania is in the middle level, with both an appellate jurisdiction over lower courts, and d ...

and served as associate to the Rt Hon. Sir Victor Windeyer of the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established following passage of the ''Judiciary Act 1903''. It ...

from 1962 to 1963. He then worked as a Legal Officer for

Hydro Tasmania Hydro Tasmania, known for most of its history as the Hydro-Electric Commission (HEC) or The Hydro, is the trading name of the Hydro-Electric Corporation, a Tasmanian Government business enterprise which is the predominant electricity generator i ...

from 1965 to 1966. He was a committee member of the Tasmanian Bar Council from 1969 to 1974, including a period as vice president from 1972 to 1973. He was appointed

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1984. Throughout his career, Hodgman largely specialised in criminal law, and represented a number of high-profile clients, including

Mark "Chopper" Read Mark Brandon "Chopper" Read (17 November 1954 – 9 October 2013) was an Australian convicted criminal, gang member and author. Read wrote a series of semi-autobiographical fictional crime novels and children's books. The 2000 film '' Chop ...

Parliamentary career

Hodgman first entered politics in 1966 as member for the

seat of Huon. He held this position until 1974 when he stood down to run for the Federal electorate of Denison. He was unsuccessful, but won the seat at his second attempt at the 1975 election, and held the seat until

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airpor ...

, when he was defeated by

Duncan Kerr Duncan James Colquhoun Kerr, SC (born 26 February 1952) is a barrister. He is a former justice of the Federal Court of Australia. He also served as President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal from 2012 to 2017. Kerr was previously a poli ...

from the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms ...

. He served as Minister for the Capital Territory and Minister Assisting the Minister for Industry and Commerce in the

Fraser Fraser may refer to: Places Antarctica * Fraser Point, South Orkney Islands Australia * Fraser, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb in the Canberra district of Belconnen * Division of Fraser (Australian Capital Territory), a former federal ...

government from 1980 to 1983. In 1992 Hodgman returned to state politics in the lower house electorate of Denison, which he held until defeated in 1998, when the size of parliament was reduced from 35 to 25 members. He regained the position in 2001 after a recount of votes due to the retirement of

Ray Groom Raymond John Groom (born 3 September 1944) is an Australian lawyer and former sportsman and politician, representing the Liberal Party in the Federal Parliament 1975–84 and the Tasmanian Parliament 1986–2001. He was a Federal and state m ...

. In the 2002 state election he retained his seat, at the expense of his colleague and leader

Bob Cheek Robert Reginald Cheek (born 13 May 1944 in Launceston, Tasmania) was leader of the Opposition Tasmanian Liberal Party from 20 August 2001 until he lost his seat in the July 2002 election. It was the first time that a major party leader was uns ...

. Hodgman was well known for his strong support for retaining Australia's

Constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies di ...

. He enjoyed wide name-recognition in Hobart; mainly due to his long political career. His wife died in 2003. His son,

, was elected to the House of Assembly in 2002 from the neighbouring seat of

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral di ...

, and was Premier of Tasmania from 2014 to 2020. After Michael's final election to the House of Assembly in 2006, he was in the partyroom meeting that saw Will elected unopposed as the new Liberal leader. He achieved further fame in 2007 when, during a speech, he rallied fellow party members to give "the Labor party one right up the bracket". On the popular ''

Get This ''Get This'' was an Australian radio comedy Radio programming, show which aired on Triple M and was hosted by Tony Martin (comedian), Tony Martin and Ed Kavalee, with contributions from panel operator, Richard Marsland. A different guest co-hos ...

'' radio show, the team had a featured segment using the soundbite "one right up the bracket", in which callers air their grievances. On 19 November 2009 Hodgman announced he would not be contesting the 2010 state election. In his farewell speech he spoke briefly about his political career including electorates represented, ministerial offices held, opposition to the invasion of East Timor and flooding of Lake Pedder.

Death

He died in a nursing home in Hobart in 2013.Former Federal and Tasmanian Liberal politician Michael Hodgman has died
abc.net.au. Retrieved 19 June 2013. He had terminal

emphysema Emphysema, or pulmonary emphysema, is a lower respiratory tract disease, characterised by air-filled spaces ( pneumatoses) in the lungs, that can vary in size and may be very large. The spaces are caused by the breakdown of the walls of the a ...

and Alzheimer's disease.

Honours and awards

References

External links

Michael Hodgman's maiden speech to House of Assembly
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodgman, Michael 1938 births 2013 deaths Australian monarchists Australian people of English descent Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Tasmania Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Deaths from emphysema Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Denison Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly Members of the Tasmanian Legislative Council Members of the Order of Australia Neurological disease deaths in Tasmania Australian King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel 21st-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian politicians Tasmanian lawyers