Mike Baird: Episode Description

On this episode of The Inspiration Project, Brendan Corr talks to former Premier of New South Wales Mike Baird about modeling good Christian leadership. They discuss why Mike decided to enter into politics, how he became the 44th Premier of New South Wales, what the job involved, The Lindt Cafe Siege and the responsibility to look after the families and communities impacted, how Mike became a Christian, why faith has played an important role in Mike’s life and career, Mike’s new role as CEO of HammondCare, and the contrast between public service vs private service.

Episode Summary

• How to model good Christian leadership in life
• Why Mike decided to enter into politics
• How Mike became the 44th Premier of New South Wales
• What being Premier involved and the pressures the job carried with it
• The Lindt Cafe Siege, how Mike was able to look after all those impacted
• How Mike became a Christian
• Why Faith has played an important role in Mike’s life and career
• Mike’s new role as CEO of HammondCare
• The contrast between public service vs private service. Is there a difference?

Mike Baird: Episode Transcript

Sponsor Announcement

This podcast is sponsored by Australian Christian College, a network of schools committed to student wellbeing, character development, and academic improvement.

Introduction

Welcome to The Inspiration Project, where well-known Christians share their stories to inspire young people in their faith and life. He’s your host, Brendan Corr.

Brendan Corr
Well, hello everybody. Welcome to another episode of The Inspiration Project podcast where we get a chance to talk to Christians who are living lives of significance and being true to their faith and their calling in the midst of finding a way to contribute to the broad society. I’m personally delighted to be having a conversation today with Mike Baird. Mike will be well-known to many of you. His name and his family name are well-known, but primarily through service as the 44th Premier of New South Wales. Mike actually completed his secondary schooling at The Kings School before going on to study at Sydney University, completing a Bachelor of Arts and Economics and government. He’s also studied at Regent College in Vancouver, Canada. He undertook a career as an investment banker before moving into politics as a member of Manly in 2007 in the New South Wales Parliament. Having served in various roles in that organisation, including shadow treasurer, treasurer, minister for Western Sydney, and Minister for Infrastructure, he became Premier in 2014. Rather unexpectedly, he announced his resignation from that position and stepped down in February 2017. And Mike now serves as CEO of HammondCare, an organisation that is committed to providing health and welfare for students and aged people in need. Mike, it’s a personal privilege to talk with you. I have long admired the extent and the quality of your public service, and I’m personally thrilled to get a chance to talk a bit about that. Welcome to the podcast.

Mike Baird
Oh, no, Thank you, Brendan. It’s a pleasure to be here and a privilege to be here. So I know you’ve spoken to some amazing Australians, so to have a chance to share with you is special. So thank you.

Brendan Corr
Really appreciate your investment of time. We can only imagine what it must be, how busy life must be as you step into this area of active service. Perhaps you might, before we dig into some of your history, tell us a bit about your current role, as CEO of HammondCare. What does that involve? What is HammondCare doing as an organisation?

Mike Baird
Yeah, look, HammondCare is incredible. That’s about the only word I’d come up with to try and do it in one. It’s an organisation with a proud history. Bob Hammond was a man, Anglican Minister, St. Barnabas, who saw in the Great Depression, homelessness in every corner, decided to do something about it, cashed in his super of the day, which was an insurance policy, bought some land out near Liverpool, got some donated materials and volunteer labour and put a hundred people into homes. And that has been the start of an organisation that is focused very much on improving the quality of life of people in need. Obviously, in time, that group started to age and there was effectively the first aged care facility put together out at Hammondville, which is there today. So they focus on today’s complex dementia and HammondCare will take people that others won’t or can’t. It also has home care services and palliative care facilities, and it does dementia research and dementia consultants across the country. So each day there’s, I’ve never seen an organisation as engaged in its mission, but there isn’t a day, I don’t think, where I haven’t been inspired by the work. People’s lives have changed every day on the back of the hands, skills, and experiences of HammondCare employees and it’s a very special place.

Brendan Corr
Yeah, I had no idea that Hammondville, as a suburb, was associated with such a strong history and a figure of such public service. That’s very interesting.

Mike Baird
Yeah, and Arthur Stace, the Eternity man, was a resident out there. So there’s a big part of Sydney’s history, Australian’s history that started with the compassion and generosity of a single man, a minister at St Barnabas, Bob Hammond.

Brendan Corr
Some of our listeners may not be familiar with the story of the Eternity script that appeared mysteriously overnight in our cities. Can you unpack it a little bit for those who aren’t familiar?

Mike Baird
Yeah, I mean, obviously he was a prominent Christian who decided his way to minister was to remind the world that they needed to think about eternity, of where they would spend it. And so he used to go out at night, catch the train and sort of write on footpaths and walls and all over the city “Eternity”. And it started discussions and thinking. All to the point, you might remember there was one New Year’s Eve, which was only a few years ago that actually had eternity on it. And it was a reflection and acknowledgment of someone that played a key role in the city. And under knowing to many, he really was asking the pertinent question, where are you going for eternity? Are you sure about it? If you don’t, should you consider it? Some say he was pointed to Jesus through that.

Brendan Corr
Indeed. We’ll visit some of those aspects of faith and how it happens in your own life. But he was known for that beautiful copperplate script, wasn’t it? That became characteristic. And the standpoint of that. Mike, you made a reference in the quote about Reverend Hammond and the start of HammondCare that he saw something and decided to do something about it. And it struck me as you used that phrase to describe that servant of the Lord, that it’s a bit of a theme for what I hope we might talk about this afternoon, the way in which your own expression of commitment to seeing need and doing something about it in the way that you are able to. Did you always have that sense of public service? Mike, you’ve demonstrated clearly the commitment in several different areas of your service. In fact, your family has demonstrated through your dad and through your siblings. Was that something that you learned at your father’s knee? Was it something that came through faith, your schooling?

Mike Baird
Yeah, I would say a combination of all of those. My mum was an incredible woman and all the siblings, and my father will point to her and her role modeling, very talented, very humble, but very giving. She, for example, saw and became aware of these orphans that lived on the tips in Cairo and rather than being impacted by it, which she was impacted, but then she acted. And so she went and visited Mother Maggie over in Cairo. She saw the work she was doing and she became an advocate down here and sort of raised funds, a network of support. There are 30,000 orphans in Cairo today who had some form of accommodation, some form of schooling, some form of medical support, a small part of my mom’s support, but I needed and did something about it. And I think that was always mom’s approach. She spent years going to prisons and talking about redemption and agape love through Cairos. Some e-listeners may know it Cairos and they do a ministry into prison. So she did that, but she didn’t just go to the mission. She would then go back for not days or weeks or months, but years, and would visit these prisoners and continue to remind them and care for them, engage with them, and love them. So that sort of role modeling is hard not to respond to. My father in public life had a lot to do with refugees and visited every single refugee camp and took some very unpopular and tough stands in terms of how we had to do much more to protect them and care for them. So I think that that sort of role modeling is important. And I think if you, in reading the gospel, it’s clear the good Samaritan didn’t keep walking. The good Samaritan saw a need on the side of the road and put everything aside to act and respond to that. And so I think we’re called to that as well. But yeah, faith, role, modeling, appearance, I think they all played a role.

Brendan Corr
All come together. Without being caricaturing anything, Mike, the experience you had at one of the best schools in the country, one of the most prestigious schools in the country, might’ve given you a very different perspective on life and on aspirations and on how you were to use your opportunities and talents. You made decisions not to indulge those opportunities, but to use them in service. Was that a wrestle for you or did it just become the expression of your convictions?

Mike Baird
I didn’t wrestle as much at school. It was more about getting through the day and the week. I loved sports, I focused on that. But it’s confronting at times because there are incredible resources at that school. And there were some amazing teachers that had an impact on me, no doubt about it. But I went back to speak there, I don’t know, 10-ish years ago. And the thing that stuck with me was you have an elite opportunity, but you are not elite. You are no different to anyone. Whether it be a child in downtown Tanzania or sitting here in these incredible confines, not one of you is more important than the other. There is deep value in every person and you just happen to have this unbelievable opportunity. And I think that was probably missing when I was at school as I reflected on, we were reminded that we were going to be the leaders of everything and many were and have been. But you can’t forget the character side of that. And just because you have that privilege doesn’t make you any more important. Just because I’m a CEO of HammondCare right now while I’m talking to you, I’ve got dozens and dozens of care workers in specialist dementia cottages doing the most incredible, hard, difficult, wonderful work. It’s significant. They’re significant. I am no more significant than they. I just happen to have had the experiences and opportunities that they might have. I can bring different things to try and help their hands, but as we both stand, we have value, deep value, and I think that’s always kind of stuck with me. And through a life sense, I had that wrestle of how do you use what you have, school, background, experiences, how do you contribute? And early in life, I really wrestled with that. It was a torturous existence. I was in investment banking, with amazingly talented people, incredibly interesting work, and dynamic, soul-destroying all in kind of moments. But I did have a wrestle, is this the best way to live my faith? Can I make a different or more impactful contribution to my community, state, and country? And how did that look? So I wrestled with that for many years early on in my career.

Brendan Corr
It follows on. I hear what you’re saying because again, at the risk of caricaturing careers, et cetera, investment banking has that reputation for high stakes, high rewards, living fast, and playing a hard lifestyle that is not necessarily known for looking out for the little people and making difference in a positive way. And so the movement from a household of faith to a career in that high stakes life, career to public service, the transition of that is an interesting one.

Mike Baird
Yeah, you wouldn’t call it linear and it wasn’t. But part of it, as I had that wrestle, and I was married by that stage with Karen, and she’s always been my soulmate on the journey, and we talk about it, and often we’d leave work when we could and rush back and lead Bible studies or youth groups or take kids away trying to shape them and help them to understand the gospel. But it ultimately came down to a moment where I was at a breakfast and I’d been thinking about maybe a way I can do this is to become a minister, a church minister, and I can look after others and kind of lead a congregation in a way that can impact community and potentially state and country. And I was at a breakfast and it was a challenge. It was the Christian sort of prayer breakfast and it was almost a thunderclap. I said, “That’s it. I’m going to go to bible college.” And I’d looked at some bible college, I looked at Regant, and as I grabbed Karen’s hand and we left the breakfast, I said to her, “We’re going to Regent. I’m going to become a minister. I’ll see you tonight.”

Brendan Corr
There’s something to unpack in that conversation.

Mike Baird
I’d like to unpack and more consultation was required, clearly, but that was part of the journey. So my sense was that’s how I thought I could have more of an impact. And I told Deutsche Bank where I was at, it made for an interesting Monday morning whip meeting. You normally, want to go around the room and share the transactions where they’re up to and the statuses. And I said, “By the way, I’m going to Bible college at Regent.” And it wasn’t expected, but it doesn’t attract, I strongly believe we need Christians in investment banking. There are some amazing Christian men and women who have made a massive, in terms of integrity, culture, and values and had an impact on many companies and thousands of employees in a way that’s quite profound. But for me, that really was a blur. And so I went to Regent, and at Regent is where I sat down and sort of wrote my life story. And if you haven’t done this, it’s quite amazing. Talk about your journey of faith, where you’ve come from, what has brought you to this point, and where you’re going to go on the life journey. And as I did that, I wrote it down and it was cathartic. I loved it. My end conclusion was that I look forward to serving as a minister of the flock and sort of faithfully caring for them in a way that we’re taught in scripture. And the lecturer then put next to it “Or maybe in Australian politics?” And that was the moment that I hadn’t thought of politics. My father had been in politics, but I’d run a million miles on it. I’d obviously reference it in my paper. I think words to that effect, but I said, “Well, hang on. Well, could you make a difference in politics? Is that something I’ve discounted that maybe I should think about?” And through the rest of that year, that became the journey.

Brendan Corr
Yeah. Regent is renowned for that provocation, isn’t it, of encouraging Christians to recognise the full-time Christian service through a vocation, through making a definite contribution to the social structure. I want to come back to, Mike, and explore that with you. But part of that story that you wrote out at Regent, that story of your life must have included the moment when obviously you were part of a family of faith and you’ve spoken about that role modeling of service and godliness. It must’ve been a point when you knew this was not just family, it was your faith. Can you share that experience with us?

Mike Baird
As in when I came to faith or as part of this?

Brendan Corr
Yeah, when you came to faith. At what point, child, teenage?

Mike Baird
Yeah, yeah, no. So yeah, the traditional story dragged along to Sunday school, materially unhappy for most of it until about year nine when I noticed that there were girls there as well from adjoining school. So that became of interest and I became a regular attendee as it turned out, and I joined a bible study group, a faithful guy who used to pick five of us up and one by one all in the car, have a Bible study at someone’s house and he’d drop us all off and then head back home. And yeah, it was a night that we didn’t necessarily have to do much homework and had a lot of fun together, trying to lead a Bible study. We didn’t pay much attention. But about a year in one of the guys, Bush Beast was his name, Jeff was his real name, and we were away. He took us away camping and surfing and we’re up at Crescent Head, for those in that Crescent Head. And right at the end of the caravan park, there used to be, I think there are vans there now. There used to be a spike that you could get a great sort of tent and be right on the point and look out. And so three of us in a two-man tent, and it was really windy. And as we were going to sleep, Jeff said, “Mike and Mike,” there were two Mikes in there. He said, “I just have to. Do you know how much Jesus loves you?” And I’ll never forget the look or the way he did it. And we said, “Yeah, Jeff got it. All good, all good.” And he said, “No, no, no. Do you know how much Jesus loves you?” And it stopped us in our tracks and didn’t respond then. But over the next few weeks and months, I actually started to pay attention to the talks, and to the Bible studies. And by the time I got to the end of year 12 as a camp and I was ready, I was ready to give my life to Jesus, I understood his sacrifice for my sins and that I was going with him for eternity. And I shared that around a campfire and haven’t looked back.

Brendan Corr
That is a fantastic story. And what a testament to those, what might seem insignificant experiences of picking somebody up, doing a Bible study, sharing the good news of the love of God. Four years is quite a time to process that, Mike, the beginnings of those stirrings and the resolution four years later, in year 12. You must have time to really think things through, to really assess and understand what it was that you were doing when you committed to Jesus.

Mike Baird
Yeah, I mean, I’ve always been emotional. I kind of connect on an emotional level, I would say, although my wife says I’m a bit repressed at times, so that is something, I like fact and I won’t accept anything unless there’s substance or reason. There were some compelling, I remember there were talks given on the veracity of Christian history, the number that saw Jesus who was resurrected, and the impact of his words at times, it became a compelling proposition. And I saw people, there was one particular person I saw, his name was John Ridgway. He is a missionary who went to India. And he came back and just talked to the church and he came and talked to the youth group. And I remember just being so amazed that he was just this kind, gregarious, talented, faithful man that just, he was so convinced that he just gave up everything and went to become a missionary in India. And that commitment, seeing that in action and hearing his story, that’s undoubtedly one of the jigsaw pieces on that journey. But yeah, it wasn’t just something that I had to tick the box on or join the crowd. I’ve never done that.

Brendan Corr
Nor just give intellectual ascent to the truths of it. You just drove something that’s an emotional thing, which speaks to that intimate relationship that you entered or deepened.

Mike Baird
Yeah, and it was deeply personal and all parts of the being mind, and spirit by all felt connected.

Brendan Corr
Later on, I hope to touch that. What has that meant for you to have that personal sense of identity as a Christian connected with the spirit of God and how you’ve manifested that in your public life? But let’s go back to that story, Regent College, the provocation of your marker, maybe Australian politics and sowing that sort of a seed, you find yourself 2007 elected into the New South Wales parliament, clearly, with the intent of doing good, of making a positive impact. Well, I wonder whether or not you have had reflections or at the time you had reflections on what is the role of government itself. Is government something that is necessary, an unfortunate necessity? Is it something that is intrinsic to the way society works, the whole world of politics? How do you see that? How do you conceive that in the sense of the way we do community?

Mike Baird
I mean, it’s incredibly important. And in the Bible, it’s clear we’re there to support our governments and it’s leaders. And I think there is vilification of governments, there is blaming governments for the ills of many or others or the particular issue. But it’s incredibly important. It’s influential, it’s impactful. It’s one of the key institutions. And our role as Christians is to support. We’ve just had a new minister come into our church and he’s connecting with the local leaders. It doesn’t matter what’s a political badge or if they don’t have a political badge, it’s who they are as people, how we can support them as leaders, but also encourage them that our church is there to support them if they’re victims of domestic violence, if those that need sort of clothes or food or visiting, there are natural disasters, call on us and participate. And in government, you respond to all of those things. I suppose you respond to social challenges, you respond to daily life challenges, to health, to security, to education. Every kind of facet of life is impacted and influenced. So having a good government with good leaders is an incredibly important part of society. So to have the chance to participate in that, it was clear in my mind, how do I go there in a faithful way, sort of reflecting my faith, living my faith, but how do I use the skills and experiences I have to the betterment of others, community, state, and country? And obviously, I had a banking background as I went in, so how can I use that in a finance context and how can I connect in a social context? So yeah, I think it’s something that we underestimate. And I would say that churches more broadly don’t engage enough in supporting and encouraging those to go in and support those that are in there.

Brendan Corr
You’re currently leading an independent private organisation that is also committed to doing good and making a difference. Has that given you any points of contrast between what public service is and the organisations that are private, and independent, and their potential for doing good and affecting change?

Mike Baird
No, and I think we don’t wrestle enough with this as churches. And I strongly believe one of the beauties is that in our congregation we have people doing all types of things. And it is one of the things you looked at Regent. How do you live your faith working in one of the major retailers? What does that mean? Working in our major banks, working in our major construction companies, I saw talks on God being a garden. There’s incredible passion and interest in gardening. So those who are in landscaping and gardening, how do you bring that to life? And often, I mean, look, God is there and amongst it and has given design and principles and approaches, but we are just not getting in on it. Eugene Peterson is challenging with that, how do you get in what God is doing? Most spiritual formation for Christians takes place in the workplace. So it’s kind of remiss not to connect faith and your work and those that kind of Christians on the Sundays and disconnected, I’m just doing work, they’re missing everything. The wonder and the mystery and the opportunity to shape and impact with your faith and obviously influence and impact others through whatever role you have. So whether it’s in politics or whether it be in the organisation, both different, but both have impacts and potential impacts as did my time in banking. And so there is a way you treat customers. There are things that you don’t need royal commissions to do and shine a light on. Are there practices that should have been done if people of faith had been leading or Christian leaders had been having inputs on some of those decisions? Could there be different outcomes, better outcomes for customers and community and state and country? So yeah, to me there there’s an energy that comes that your faith can be applied in so many different ways.

Brendan Corr
I wonder, Mike, whether you’ve noticed a shift or a change in the nature of government over the course of history as you reflected on what it is that governments are asked to do and the apparent shift towards rather than encouraging virtue or encouraging right actions from the citizenry, it’s shifted a little more towards establishing the freedoms that people need to enjoy. Have you observed that in any of the organisation? I guess I’m looking at lawmaking, the nature of lawmaking that parameters for relationships in a community.

Mike Baird
That’s a big question and I would need to go back to my history teacher to run through that. Look, I think as I look at government, I mean there is a natural resistance to impingement on freedoms and choice and being told that this is what we must or mustn’t do. There’s undoubtedly that, but I don’t know whether that’s a government thing. I don’t know whether that’s a societal thing. Social media is undoubtedly having a very, very significant impact on culture and values, but also on government. I can tell you the impact of social media on government is huge.

Brendan Corr
Is that a good thing, Mike? Is that a democratising of communication power?

Mike Baird
Like anything, it can be unbelievably positive, but it can also be very destructive. There wouldn’t be a politician out there who was telling the truth. If they were telling the truth, that is, would say that social media call it 10 years ago to today, has hurt them, damaged them, and impacted them in ways they’d probably not prefer to talk about because it’s personal and visceral. I couldn’t repeat some of the things that were said when I was there and you’d have mechanisms to do it. There’s also the power to stop the government trying to look after. I mean, you want your health system to be the strongest and the best it can be. I mean, that’s a noble thing. All governments should be trying to do that, they have the responsibility. But if you have three or four issues that people aren’t happy with, well the supporters, the individual issues can coalesce very quickly with significant numbers and have an impact on policy making and slow down governments and people. So you’ve got the personal, you’ve got the policy side, but there’s also great things. I mean, you become aware of issues that you’d have no idea. There were personal stories that came to me through social media that I never would’ve known about and going to investigate them as a treasurer, seeing them firsthand and having a chance to influence and shape policy on the results. So like anything there was good and bad.

Brendan Corr
It comes back to that quote, I can’t remember who it was, maybe Gulag Archipelago spoke about the divide between good and evil isn’t out there. It runs right through the centre of everything we do and through our own hearts and our own motives. And we stress with that. So, Mike, you have rendered fantastic service, wonderful service in that sphere of public activity, and public life leadership through different mechanisms of government. To what degree, as a Christian, did you feel that your government, and your legal institutions, needed to be Christian? Or is that a wrong way of viewing things? Is it not the government that should be Christian per se? How would you describe that tension?

Mike Baird
Well, to me it was clear. I was quite clear. So I mean I was obviously a Christian of faith, but that’s me. My role is not to legislate my faith. My role is to govern for all. How I responded and reacted was obviously influenced, at times, by being a Christian. After the Lindt Cafe Siege. I was hugely impacted and indeed really personally impacted for many years. But in that response, it was clear to me that the media reaction was to care for those who lost loved ones, to care for the hostages, to care for the Muslim community, to connect in and try and pastor a city that was in the midst of just something so horrific and so horrendous. And that’s happened right in the heart of our city and state and country. So how faith, that was me in a personal response, but undoubtedly faith, it kind of shaped me. Role modeling that I saw through my mom that I’ve been inspired through scripture to care and to love and to try and encourage to focus on unity and grace and not anger and hate and retribution. So that’s just, I guess one example of that. It flows out into a broad public context, but I am very clear. Some of the most significant criticisms I got because I would participate in need with the Muslim community and sometimes fasting is a big part of that for them. So I would fast as a Christian, and when I’d go and speak at events, I would talk about that. I’d say, “Look, we have in common and they’re focusing on good deeds and prosperity.” And I’d say, “Look, for us, it’s about praying and we’re praying for others. We’re trying to draw closer to our understanding of God.” And I would share that in a personal way. Now, some Christians found that very, very difficult because we’ve got to take a very strong stance against the Muslim community and the Muslim faith. But in the concepts of governing for all, trying to care and connect, I saw that pathway. So there are different ways, but I was always clear that it was not a “what is the Christian policy outcome”, it’s “what is the policy for all”. And obviously part of that input is who I am and what I believe. And then it goes into a cabinet discussion before legislation comes out and it’s an input, not a determinant.

Brendan Corr
So what I think I’m hearing there, Mike is that your commitment to Christian faith and to Christian ideals and biblical truth and understanding how the world works from a point of revelation, biblical revelation, that was the seedbed from which good policy, good ideas, good initiatives, could be evaluated as being intrinsically good even if they weren’t expressly the manifestation of a faith perspective. And it was sort of living out the Jeremiah principle of seeking the welfare of the city. Well, in whatever way you can build strength, build capacity, build goodness, build beauty, those unifying values that we know stick to our humanity as much as to our faith.

Mike Baird
Yeah, I mean US politics is headed more towards, here is the Christian wishlist on which we must legislate. I don’t think that’s helpful. I mean, on our part, what is needed for the state? What is needed for the country? What is the best possible policy we can pursue? Now as part of that, there will be social issues, but that’s where I think the conscience rate is incredibly important. That’s where you bring your personal self on a single decision and your vote with your conscience and as distinct from this is government policy and this is what we need. So yes, it influences, as I said, but it’s not the determinant and the determinant is governing for all and how we deliver the best policy for the majority.

Brendan Corr
Yeah, that’s good. You had a reputation in your realm of public life, Mike, for being genuinely authentic. And again, at the risk of caricaturing careers, politics is about managing the story, managing the narrative, controlling interpretation, perception, and spin. You were able, at least my sense is, that you were able to be a beacon of authenticity in the midst of that where you could manifest a genuine sense of self and of presence. Were you conscious of doing that? Was it something that you were aware of in the conversation that you had with the community?

Mike Baird
Look, I mean there’s a couple of elements of that. At Regent, I read this book by Martin Buber called I and Thou, and it was recommended by Eugene Peterson, the most incredible book. And long story short, there’ll be many academics listening that could put it in much better ways than I can. But there are really two ways of relating. There’s the “I, it” and there’s the “I, thou”. And most of the world operates in this “I, it” capacity. And that is relationships, interactions, everything you do is functional, it’s needed, it’s transactional. It’s not what is the “I, thou”. The “I, thou” is kind of all in, every part, every being, all essence. That moment is the most significant moment. And that person that you’re interacting with is the most significant person in the world. And that has stayed with me all the way. And I think from a leadership point of view, that’s how I’ve really tried to live it out. Whether I am meeting with my leadership team or one-on-one or one of our residents today out in our residential facilities, it’s the same thing. Nothing else matters. And that kind of presence, which you alluded to, has hopefully been seen and felt. And I was very conscious as Premier, I mean hold it lightly, use it greatly. And in that, I’m not defined by being a Premier. That’s a role I’ve got and I’ve got a stewardship of that role. But I was conscious that the Premier, in whatever event I was going to, and it was, you got invited to how many events? About 15,000 events a year. So you got invited to a lot. There are a hundred thousand letters that came in at 15,000 events. So the ones you got to, that’s probably the only time for that organisation celebrating its 80th year or 90th year or the particular volunteer, the Premier was going to be there. So I never wanted to come in, “How are you? I’m going to get on as I’ve got something else to go to.” So how do I stop that relentless push of the diary? And the most speeches I gave in one day was nine. So it’s this relentless push. So how do you? And Martin Buber kind of said me, “I would try and be as present as I possibly could.” And then on the authentic piece, I always, as I resolved, and I had time and opposition to think about this before it went in government, but what struck me as I kind of observed the political process, and I don’t pretend I’m a great politician in any way, shape or form, but if you watch the political process, your political capital gets spent. Now, if you do something or you don’t, it eventually gets spent. So my sense, if I’m going to be attacked, I would want to do it for what I believe in and who I am. I don’t want to pretend that I’m someone else I’m not. I love surfing and I’ve been surfing for a long time. I didn’t just pick up a surfboard because I thought it would be good as a member for man. And so trying to be genuine and who I am a guy called Tony Story who helped me with social media, said that it’s pretty clear, just be yourself. I want your voice, what you think, and your humour, which it’s been described invariably as dad humour intensive, as in not funny, but I find it funny. So just be yourself. And it was the same thing when I ran for parliament. What’s the saying we going to do? Because I won pre-selection, I worked in a few local groups, but across the election, no one would know who this banker who lived amongst us was. So my sense is, “Well, we have to tell them who I am.” So I got 20 friends and I said, “Just give me three words, three words that you think describe me and then I’ll try and honour those words.” So it’s almost a contract to my community. It was two hours. It was an amazing night. And they came up with passion, integrity, and results. And those words, someone challenged me, “Well, you’d need to put them up somehow in the office.” So I’ve got three people that represented those and I had integrity was William Wilberforce And all he did. Our passion was Martin Luther King and Roden Cutler was the person I chose because he achieved for the community, he was a manly resident, and he saved people from sharks. He was a World War hero and did public service as a governor. So I’ve still got those pictures up in my office and still try to live those. So trying to be who I am and bring who I am in a way that is authentic and real was important to me. To me, I actually think that’s a recipe for political success. Be yourself and do what you believe in. I mean, if you ask me two things, I think you’ve got a chance of influencing and impacting well beyond trying to be something you’re not and pursuing things you don’t believe in.

Brendan Corr
To be yourself or to be able to communicate yourself authentically, you have to know yourself. To what degree, when did you feel that you had a sense of clear self-identity that this actually was who Mike Baird is?

Mike Baird
Well, obviously it’s shaped through your parents early on, obviously shaped through my faith in that decision. But as a wrestler, it became clear to me that I wanted to make an impact on the community, state, and country, and I wanted to live my faith to the fullest I could. By the time I was early twenties, I think all of that was in place and it was just a matter of applying it and living it. So I’ve always had a sense of standing up for what I believe in and not being afraid of hard work to try and achieve those results.

Brendan Corr
It’s an interesting sort of courage, Mike, that you’re describing that quiet, calm courage to put yourself out into the world and to own your values, your principles, the things that you hold dear, things that you believe in. Has it taken courage?

Mike Baird
Yeah, look, I mean I think it has at times. The first week that I was Premier, I think that the city Herald did their news review on me and their headline. What was the headline again? I can’t believe I can’t remember that headline. What was it called? I’ll have to find it. I’ll have to find it, I think. I can’t remember. There you go. That’s a healthy sign.

Brendan Corr
It must’ve been flattering. Was it?

Mike Baird
No, it wasn’t flattering. Basically, they were challenging my faith. So it was, hang on everyone, this new person in the chair just letting you know, they seem to be a pretty keen Christian, so draw your own conclusions, but we’re nervous. Reading between the lines. And look, the context there, “Wow, okay, do I shut that down? Is that something that we can’t talk about or can’t do?” And my head of media Emray Sosinski said, “Well, if only you’re a member of a cult, that’d be okay. No problem here that you’re a Christian, you want to sacrifice, serve others, you’ve cut your salary.” Whatever have you done because you want to come to serve, like stop it. Just don’t do that. So that was kind of helpful. It was just like, “No, no, no, that’s who I am.” I do remember when you attack for things of integrity or competence, it does hit hard, but your identity is an audience of one. And I think that that rock in anchor, it didn’t matter the hurricane that’s happening around you, your understanding of how much, going back to Jeff’s words, God loves me. And that’s what matters. And I think so whether that gives you more courage to be strong in your convictions, certainly, it gives you the right perspective to be able to perhaps be braver than otherwise you would. Because if you’re worried about focus groups and calling groups and political colleagues, you could go around in circles all day and make no decisions.

Brendan Corr
Yeah, indeed. So you said you’ve got passion, integrity, and results. Those photos are still up on your wall. In your current role, how are they manifesting? How are they helping you make a difference as CEO of HammondCare?

Mike Baird
Well, I mean every day. I mean the integrity is deep and real here based on Bob Hammond and what he did. And there’s a mission that I’ve never seen as connected to a group of people as it is here. But there are also ways that we report and ways we engage with regulators, ways we engage with families. There are some tough things and we’re not always right. And the way you deal with those issues, you’ve got to try and I think deal with the most transparency you can, the most integrity you can, and take accountability when things are wrong and gone wrong. So like any organisation, they’re challenges that you’ll face and trying to hold those. In terms of passion. Well, I’ve seen the most incredible people. And for me, the question is: how on earth can I help them spend more time and caring in better ways? Anything I can do that can take an hour out of their admin and give them an hour with our residents or clients or patients in our hospitals, our palliative care patients, well, that’s worth doing. And that’s contagious here. That’s across the leadership team. That passion. And results, the same thing. I mean, well give you an example of the passion. In the middle of the pandemic, there was almost 50% of our head office was out in facilities, sleeves rolled up, cleaning, and cooking while the carers we had were doing the caring that good, they were doing conga lines of PPE equipment up and down the coast, east coast of Australia, trying to get it to our carers. So that passion’s there. And results, it’s the same thing. How can we deliver care in new ways, innovative ways? How can we influence and shape the sector? How can we influence the government as they’re thinking about the Royal Commission and responses and looking after those who are living with dementia? I mean, we’ve got incredible advocates for that here. And every fibre of their being. One of our team has been here almost 30 years. She’s this incredible talent and every ounce of her is about how can we improve the lives of people living with dementia. And she’ll go to government forums, she’ll go to public forums, she’ll go and encourage carers. So it’s not hard to be focused on results when you’re dealing with those sorts of things.

Brendan Corr
Mike, I want to thank you for the life that you’ve spent for the good of the people around you. I thank you for the toll that you’ve endured and that your family would’ve endured to offer that service. And I’m very, very thankful that God has placed you in this position right now where you can continue to be the person he’s created you to be with that passion, that integrity, and picking up that legacy of Reverend Hammond to see something and do something about it. I pray you continue to give your strength to do it. Thank you for your time today.

Mike Baird
Brendan, thank you for the privilege and it’s just been great to reflect thank you for your faithfulness and Jay’s faithfulness and putting this podcast, and look forward to connecting down the track next chapter.

Brendan Corr
Indeed, indeed. God bless you.

Mike Baird
Thank you, mate.