Tom Hughes (Australian politician)

Hughes was born on 26 November 1923 in Rose Bay, New South Wales.[1][2] He was the son of lawyer and aviator Geoffrey Forrest Hughes. His brother was the writer and critic Robert Hughes. His grandfather and great-uncle were members of the New South Wales Legislative Council. He was educated at Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview, and the University of Sydney,[3] where he graduated in law. He enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force in May 1942 and was discharged in February 1946.[2] In 2005 he was awarded the French Légion d'honneur for his courage while flying planes in the Invasion of Normandy.[4] He was called to the New South Wales bar in 1949, becoming a QC in 1962.

Hughes appeared in a number of high-profile defamation cases. In 1960 he successfully defended Australian Consolidated Press, its editor-in-chief David McNicoll, and political journalist Alan Reid against a suit brought by union secretary Charlie Oliver.[5] In 1964 he represented author Hal Porter against The Mercury for publishing a bad review of his autobiography.[6]

Hughes in 1964.

Hughes defeated the long-serving Labor member Les Haylen to unexpectedly win the seat of Parkes at the 1963 elections. He switched to the Division of Berowra at the 1969 federal election. He served on the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs from 1964 to 1969.[7]

Hughes continued to practise as a barrister during his time as a backbencher. In 1967 he represented Clive Evatt Jr., nephew of former ALP leader H. V. Evatt, against the New South Wales Bar Association in a professional misconduct case.[8] In August 1969, he represented Alexander McLeod-Lindsay at a special inquiry into his conviction for attempting to murder his wife, arguing there had been a mistrial.[9]

In September 1972 Hughes was elected to the council of the Australian National University, to a term expiring in 1975.[22]

After leaving politics he became one of the leading figures at the Sydney bar, and was president of the New South Wales Bar Association between 1973 and 1975. He was formerly engaged in full-time practice as a member of Sydney's Blackstone Chambers, and as of 2016 was the most senior member of the NSW Bar.[23]

In 1974 Hughes defended New South Wales premier Robert Askin against a defamation suit brought by Jack Mundey, the president of the Communist Party of Australia.[24] In 1976 he simultaneously appeared for prime minister Gough Whitlam in the New South Wales Court of Petty Sessions while representing Vic Garland against Whitlam in the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory. The cases were unrelated and as such there was no perceived conflict of interest.[25] Hughes assisted media mogul Kerry Packer at the Costigan Royal Commission in 1984.[26] In the same year he represented bookmaker Bill Waterhouse at the New South Wales Racing Appeals Tribunal following the Fine Cotton scandal.[27]

Hughes represented High Court judge Lionel Murphy in several different venues relating to his alleged attempts to pervert the course of justice. In 1984 he appeared for Murphy before a Senate committee,[28] and the following year he represented Murphy in his appeal against a conviction for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.[29]

In 2002, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Hughes was still working full-time at the age of 78, as one of only two active barristers admitted to the New South Wales bar in the 1940s.[3] He retired from the bar in October 2013, a month before his 90th birthday.[30]

Hughes delivered the eulogy at the state memorial service for John Gorton in May 2002. His speech was highly critical of Malcolm Fraser's actions in 1971, which he termed a "political assassination". Fraser was in attendance at the service.[31][32]

In 1951 Hughes married Joanna Fitzgerald, a niece of the poet R. D. Fitzgerald. The couple had three children together – Lucy, Tom Jr. and Michael.[3] Lucy served as Lord Mayor of Sydney (2000–2002) and married Malcolm Turnbull, who became prime minister of Australia (2015–2018). Tom followed his father into the legal profession, often serving as his junior.[3] Michael became a stockbroker and business executive, also holding senior office in the Liberal Party's organisational wing.[33]

Hughes and his first wife divorced in 1972.[34] He subsequently proposed marriage to actress Kate Fitzpatrick, who turned him down. He remarried in 1981 to Chrissie Abel Smith (née Taylor), at a ceremony officiated by Ted Noffs.[3]

Hughes was raised Catholic. He left the church for a period due to disagreements with its social policies, but rejoined in the early 1990s.[3]

In the early 1970s Hughes bought an 800-hectare (2,000-acre) farming property at Gurrundah, New South Wales. He initially raised cattle but in 1976 established a Poll Dorset sheep stud with six rams and 320 ewes. He won prizes at local agricultural shows and exhibited at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.[35]

• Hancock, Ian (2016). Tom Hughes QC: A Cab on the Rank. The Federation Press. ISBN 9781760020583.