Veteran Broadcaster and Former Senator Derryn Hinch Dies at 82

Derryn Hinch, ‘The Human Headline,’ passed away in his sleep on July 10.

Media personality and former Senator Derryn Hinch in Melbourne, Australia, on June 3, 2016. Scott Barbour/Getty Images

Derryn Hinch, the New Zealand-born broadcaster who became one of Australian media’s most combative and consequential figures, has died at the age of 82.

Known throughout Australia as “The Human Headline,” Hinch built a career spanning around six decades in print, radio, and television, often clashing with the courts over his willingness to name sex offenders on air.

He died on July 10. His death was confirmed by Melbourne radio station 3AW, where he worked as a broadcaster.

Entertainment reporter Peter Ford shared the news, saying he passed away in his bed at home, citing lengthy health battles, which he said Hinch had been open about.

“It is one of those moments where you think, that was an extraordinary life and career,” Ford told 3AW.

“It’s an amazing story of somebody who, as a young guy in rural New Zealand, had dreams of getting into journalism and slowly but surely, boy, did he do that.”

Humble Beginnings

Born on Feb. 9, 1944, in New Plymouth, New Zealand, Hinch began his journalism career as a teenage cadet reporter for the Taranaki Herald before relocating to Australia in 1963.

He went on to work as a foreign correspondent for Fairfax and later became its New York bureau chief before returning to Australia to begin the radio and television career that made him a household name.

From the late 1970s, Hinch became a dominant figure in Melbourne broadcasting, fronting 3AW’s Drive program across multiple stints and hosting the current affairs program “Hinch” on the Seven Network, as well as “Midday” on the Nine Network.

He later worked as a national public affairs commentator for Seven, appearing on Sunday Night, Today Tonight, and Sunrise.

Hinch’s campaigning journalism repeatedly put him at odds with the legal system. In 1987, he was jailed for 12 days and fined $15,000 (US$10,400) for contempt of court after revealing a paedophile priest’s prior convictions during a trial.

He was found in contempt again in later years, at one point serving a period of house arrest, cementing his reputation as a “self-styled crusader” for victims of crime who believed the public’s right to know outweighed suppression laws.

From Journalism to the Senate

In 2015, Hinch founded Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party, built around tougher sentencing for violent and sexual offenders, a public sex offender register, and parole reform.

He was elected to the Senate in 2016 at the age of 72, claiming to be the oldest Australian elected to federal parliament for the first time. He held the seat until losing it at the 2019 election, and his Justice Party was later dissolved in 2023.

In 2018, Hinch was inducted into the Australian Media Hall of Fame in recognition of his long and distinguished career.

Hinch published over a dozen books during his life, covering subjects ranging from scrabble and autobiography to death and overcoming grief.