Politician and member of Australian Labour Party (ALP). Member of the House of Assembly from 1969 and elected Deputy Premier in 1975. He was Premier from 1977 until 1981 when he was overthrown, due to controversy relating to the Gordon-below-Franklin power scheme. He resigned from the ALP and served the remainder of his time as an Independent. He was subsequently elected to the Legislative Council in 1986 where he served as an Independent to 1992 after which he retired from politics. He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2000.