REMEMBER WHEN

GOLD COAST BULLETIN Tuesday April 5, 1977

RUSS Hinze was a conservative icon on the Gold Coast in the late 20th century, but that didn’t stop him from being a highly controversial figure.

The National Party’s Local Government Minister, a longtime enemy of the Gold Coast City Council, found himself at odds with his own Coalition partners, the Liberal Party.

The Bulletin reported that resentment towards Mr Hinze was growing to the point that the Liberal Party was considering running a candidate against him in the conservative stronghold of South Coast at the upcoming elections.

The Bulletin spoke to Liberal candidate for Surfers Paradise Peter White.

Mr White, who ultimately won the seat of Southport later that year, said “I don’t say he would necessarily be opposed at the next election but if he keeps on the way he is he must expect Liberal opposition at some time in the future”.

The controversy came after Mr Hinze stirred up anger in the Liberals by calling it a party of “Welchers”.

Reaction was swift, with Liberal Leader and Deputy Premier William Knox promising to “discipline” Mr Hinze.

However, sources close to the minister said there was little chance Mr Hinze would be damaged. “Cabinet is a numbers game and Bill Knox just doesn’t have the numbers.”

White eventually served as the Liberal MP for the federal seat of McPherson from 1980 until 1990 when he retired.

Meanwhile, Alderman Bruce Bishop controversially declared Australians were rude, ill mannered bores compared to the people of Hawaii after a trip to the US state.