Bill Haigh

Background

Haigh was born in Liverpool, England, to boot repairer Christopher Haigh and Catherine Runcie Deegan.

Education

His family migrated to Australia and he was educated at Malabar and Randwick.

Career

He was the Labor member for Maroubra in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1968 to 1983. He served as Minister Assisting the Premier from 1976 until 1978, as Minister for Services from 1977 to 1978, and as Minister for Corrective Services from 1978 to 1981. He was then apprenticed as a fitter and turner, and joined the Amalgamated Engineering Union aged 16.

Haigh worked at Bunnerong Power Station from 1949 until 1959, and joined the Australian Labor Party in 1949.

He was elected to Randwick Municipal Council in 1956, serving until 1968 (as Mayor from 1962). In 1968, following the retirement of former Premier Bob Heffron, Haigh was selected as the Labor candidate for Heffron"s seat of Maroubra.

In 1976 he was appointed to the ministry as Minister Assisting the Premier. The Services portfolio was added in 1977.

In 1978 he became Minister for Corrective Services.

Achievements

• His first win was a narrow one, but at subsequent elections he was untroubled. Dropped from the ministry after the 1981 state election, he resigned from parliament in 1983. The by-election for his seat was won by future Premier Bob Carr.