Alongside a decorated career in the Australian banking industry, for more than two decades Bill was a mainstay at HIA’s national economic forecasting events. 

His annual keynote presentation became a cornerstone of the calendar of events for Australia's residential building industry. Each year, more than a thousand builders from across the country would gather to hear Bill explain the economy, the outlook for interest rates, and what it all meant for their businesses.

Like many in our industry, we all looked forward to hearing Bill speak each year, where he displayed his rare gift for making economics accessible without ever oversimplifying it. Bill’s ability to educate, while also engaging and entertaining an audience, made him unique. Audiences valued his depth of knowledge, his intellectual curiosity and, above all, his judgement. 

Bill earned the industry's trust through the clarity of his thinking, the consistency of his analysis and his willingness to explain the reasoning behind his views.

Bill brought history and lived experience to life, whether drawing on previous interest rate cycles in Australia or lessons from economies around the world, he provided the context that allowed our industry to understand the challenges before them. 

His contribution to Australia's residential building industry extends well beyond the many presentations he delivered. He gave builders greater confidence to navigate periods of uncertainty and helped them make better informed decisions through some of the most significant economic challenges of the past quarter of a century.

On behalf of HIA and the broader residential building industry, we extend our sincere condolences to Bill's family, friends and Westpac colleagues. He will be greatly missed, and his contribution to our industry will be remembered with enormous respect and gratitude.

For more information please contact: