Overview
- His wife Amanda and son D'Arcy told broadcaster Ben Fordham that Richardson died at 3:50am Saturday after weeks of influenza and pneumonia, with a recent stint on dialysis.
- Richardson served as a NSW senator from 1983 to 1994 and held multiple cabinet portfolios under prime ministers Bob Hawke and Paul Keating, including environment, social security, transport and communications, and health.
- As environment minister he helped secure protections and heritage listings for the Daintree and Kakadu and is credited with strengthening safeguards for Tasmanian native forests.
- Tributes flowed from across politics, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers, with praise also from figures such as Bob Carr, Bob Brown and Josh Frydenberg.
- A polarising factional operator linked to controversies such as the Marshall Islands affair, he was never convicted of wrongdoing; he later hosted Sky News programs Richo and Richo + Jones, overcame major surgery in 2016, received an Order of Australia in 2020, and is survived by his wife and three children.