McGuinness, named after Patrick Pearse, was the youngest child of Frank McGuinness (1900-1949), who was the inaugural editor of Ezra Norton's Sydney newspaper The Daily Mirror in 1941. Padraic attended, first, Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview (from his time there he dated the atheist attitudes which remained constant in his adult life, whatever his changes of ideological allegiance) and then obtained a scholarship to attend Sydney Boys High School. He studied economics at the University of Sydney (B.Ec., Hons, 1960), where he became a prominent member of the Sydney Push in the late 1950s and early 1960s. At that time, he identified as an anarchist but also joined the Labor Party.[2]
In 1973–74, he served the Whitlam Labor government as an economic advisor to the Minister for Social Security, Bill Hayden, who was engaged in establishing Medibank and reforming policy for private hospitals and nursing homes.[5] During this time McGuinness advocated the introduction of Medibank, against the opinions of doctors who mostly wanted health care to remain private.[2][6]
Journalist
After working for Hayden, McGuinness's career was chiefly in journalism, including senior editorial positions at The Australian Financial Review (1974–87), where he became editor-in-chief in 1982. He also wrote occasional film reviews and columns for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian. In 1997 he was appointed editor of Quadrant, a position he held for ten years.
Political candidate
McGuinness reportedly became a member of the Australian Labor Party and unsuccessfully sought preselection for the seat of Sydney (which he later persistently denied).[7] In 2002–2004, he served as an independent councillor on Leichhardt Council.[8]
Death and legacy
McGuinness died from cancer on Australia Day, 26 January 2008, aged 69, having recently stood down as editor of Quadrant.[1] He was survived by his daughter Parnell Palme McGuinness, named after Charles Stewart Parnell, and two siblings: his older brother Michael and his older sister Judy. Parnell McGuinness is a columnist with the Sydney Morning Herald.[9]
According to journalist colleague Frank Devine, "Paddy was the quintessential independent thinker, scorning humbug and stupidity. He was a bloodthirsty predator among those he identified as members of the chattering classes".[10] However, he was himself frequently criticised for pomposity and hypocrisy when, for instance, he accepted an Order of AustraliaAO award in 2003[11] despite a long-held, vocal contempt for such honours.[12]
The day before his funeral, former prime minister Paul Keating, denigrated him as "a fraud and a liar".[13] Keating had previously paid public tribute to McGuinness for contributing to his economic education[14] but, after McGuinness became a frequent critic of Keating's government and persona, Keating described him as "a bloated cane toad",[15] and predicted that "the quality of the Australian press will rise simply because his vituperation and contumely will have been excised from it."[16]
