The former NSW Premier announced his intention to vacate the role of CEO of the Not For Profit provider of home care, dementia care and palliative care in the second half of this year last month.
In a podcast released last Friday (5 January) with listed investment company Future Generation Australia, 54-year-old Mike criticises modern-day political leaders, stating they stoke division in society and fail to do “what they know is right or what they believe in” and intensifying rumours that he will answer the Liberal Party's desire for him to return to politics.
SATURDAY: MIKE BAIRD - AGED CARE SUNRISE
“I think particular leaders globally have kind of taken approaches to politics that are divisive and ‘us and them’ on every single day, moment and media appearance,” Mike, a member of the Department of Health And Aged Care's Aged Care Taskforce, told Future Generation Australia CEO Caroline Gurney in the podcast.
“But the biggest thing to me is political leaders that don’t do what they know is right or what they believe in. That invariably means that people are managing to try and win elections. They’re stoking the division for that aim, because they’re either trying to drive support in their base or they’re trying to drive people away from opponents. I think we’ve lost something.
“I go back to people like Bob Hawke and Paul Keating and some of the significant economic reforms that were done when all types of stakeholders came together for the good of country.
“That to me is something that’s missing. Then you couple that with the rise of social media and the coalescing of those that are against various government decisions or policies, that creates a very angry, noisy place."
“Most of my time in politics, there were all types of people that were upset over all types of issues. The challenge becomes when they overwhelm you to the (point) that you can no longer focus on the policies that you think the government needs.
“It comes back down to a leader, or a group of leaders in a cabinet context, that are determined to do what is right and what is for the good of country and/or state.”
The Chairman of Future Generation Australia, which donates 1% of its assets to youth-focused charities, Mike said HammondCare was dedicated to caring for “those that others won’t or can’t”.
“I’ll give you one example. There was a resident that we took in three months ago. He had a fungating cancer on his face, (which was) really confronting, and he had dementia. But he didn’t need to be in hospital, he was palliating," Mike said.
“The sense was it was two or three months that he would probably be alive and an aged care home could take him. Aged care home after aged care home decided they wouldn’t take him. We passionately believe that we will try and care for those that others won’t or can’t. Here’s someone that needs and deserves (the same) amount of dignity and respect as anyone else.
“So the team took him in, cared for him. He had no family that was known to the hospital, but we ended up finding his sister and they were with him in his last hours. That’s living a Christian faith. Caring compassionately, living what you believe. So how should a Christian live in that context? That’s the way to do it. It’s deeds, not necessarily words.”
Mike joined HammondCare in 2020 following a stint at NAB and a decade in NSW Liberal politics, serving as Premier between 2014 and 2017.
While the outgoing CEO is due to begin his role as Chairman of Cricket Australia in February, Mike has said previously said that he was not going to any other role after he leaves HammondCare in late 2024.
But with the Federal Liberal Party keen to win the seat of Warringah, now held by Independent Zali Steggall, could politics beckon again?
You can listen to the podcast here.
You can read a transcript of the podcast here.
You can find HammondCare's retirement villages listed on villages.com.au.