Former Queensland premier Wayne Goss dies

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Sorry, this video has expired Video: Wayne Goss dead at 63 (ABC News)

Former Queensland premier Wayne Goss, who led the Labor Party to victory after the Bjelke-Petersen era, has died aged 63.

Goss family spokesman Russ Morgan confirmed Mr Goss died at home in Brisbane in the early hours of November 10 from the recurrence of a brain tumour.

In a joint statement Mrs Roisin Goss, son Ryan and daughter Caitlin said: "As a family we mourn the man we love; as Queenslanders we join with so many others in gratitude for everything Wayne did for our community and our state."

"In Wayne's own words from 1996, 'Thank you, Queensland. You've been good to me. I hope I've left you a better place.'

"We and the extended family are immensely thankful to Dr Bruce Hall and all of Wayne's medical team for their excellent care, and to all those who have sent their well wishes during Wayne's illness."

The family said details of Mr Goss's memorial service would be confirmed "in due course".

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman telephoned Mrs Goss to give his condolences and offer to hold a state funeral.

Cabinet also held a minute's silence for Mr Goss during the morning's meeting.

"I was saddened by the news this morning," Mr Newman said.

"Wayne was a true leader who guided his party and the state through a turbulent time in Queensland’s history.

"He drove much-needed reform in many aspects of Queensland’s public life, including social policy, electoral laws and reform of the police service and broader public service.

"He did so with tenacity, determination and courage."

In 1989, Mr Goss became the first Labor premier after 32 years of National Party rule.

He was known as Mr 70 Per Cent for his high public approval rating, but lost government to the Nationals in 1996.

In 1997, when he was 46, Mr Goss was diagnosed with a brain tumour.

The diagnosis came as a shock as he had been extremely fit, and prompted him to abandon plans to enter Federal Parliament.

He had brain surgery three more times, most recently in April this year.

Goss the 'Mr Clean of Queensland politics', says Beattie

Peter Beattie replaced Mr Goss as Labor leader in 1996.

Speaking from New York, Mr Beattie said Mr Goss was a reformer who returned Queensland to a state of honesty.

"It's a sad day for Queensland because Wayne Goss was not just a decent person, he changed Queensland for the better," he said.

"He was one of those people who made a difference.

"He was the Mr Clean of Queensland politics and Labor's best premier since T.J. Ryan in 1915.

"You can imagine what would have happened to Queensland if Wayne Goss had not run for State Parliament.

"The Fitzgerald inquiry would have been in vain and Queensland would have slipped back to the bad old days."

Federal Labor leader Bill Shorten also paid tribute to the former premier.

"Wayne Goss was a great Australian and he was truly a great Labor man," he said.

"There is no doubt he modernised Queensland and this is a great loss.

"I want to put my thanks on record for the services of Wayne Goss."

Former Goss government treasurer Keith De Lacy said he was a great leader with a wonderful sense of humour.

"Wayne Goss to some people came across as a bit old and aloof but nothing could be further from the truth," he said.

"He was a very warm person with a wonderful sense of humour and certainly one of the most intelligent and articulate people that I have ever met."

Mr Goss was one of the first lawyers to work with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Law Service in the early 1970s.

'Champion' of Indigenous rights

Aboriginal leader Sam Watson said Goss was a champion for Indigenous rights in the state.

"Wayne ushered in a whole new era of reform, of laws that worked for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people," he said.

"As a colleague, as a brother, as a mate, I would extend our deepest sympathy and love.

"This is a great loss and we just salute the legacy Wayne Goss and the contribution he made to our community."

In his days after politics, Mr Goss took up several consultancies and directorships instead.

He had been an adjunct professor at the University of Queensland's school of business since 2008.

Rudd and Swan pay respects

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd, who was Mr Goss's chief of staff, said in a statement Queensland had "lost a great man".

"A great leader and one whom history will conclude was its greatest post-war premier," Mr Rudd said.

"He changed the face of Queensland, how Queenslanders looked at themselves, and how the rest of the nation saw Queensland.

"The fact that he chose a political vocation, with all the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune that attend it, made Queensland a decisively better place for us all."

He said Mr Goss changed Queensland's future by defeating "the most corrupt electoral system in the country's history".

"Wayne Goss through the sheer power of his personality, an extraordinary determination, a deep, a driving sense of justice that began with his early days at the Aboriginal legal service, and a profound resonance with the people of Queensland, changed all that," he said.

"He managed to triumph despite the gerrymander, and then destroy the gerrymander altogether, and for all time.

"No-one else could have done it - he did - and it took more than 50 per cent of the primary vote to do so - an extraordinary political accomplishment."

Former federal treasurer Wayne Swan was the Labor campaign director when Mr Goss won office.

"Whether it was anti-discrimination laws or it was a commitment to the arts, he was broad in that view," said Mr Swan.

"Because of that broadness, we now live with the rich results of many of the decisions that were taken during that time."

Topics: state-parliament, alp, brain-tumor, people, brisbane-4000

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