Derryn Hinch is being remembered for his uncompromising opinions and colourful life, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese among those paying tribute to the broadcaster and former senator.

Hinch died at the age of 82 at home on Thursday night after a long and public health battle.

His death was confirmed on Friday on Melbourne radio station 3AW, where he worked for a long stint.

New Zealand-born Hinch began his media career at The Taranaki Herald in 1960, aged just 15, before moving to Sydney and taking on the police round at The Sun newspaper, where he later became editor.

In Australia, he became known as the “human headline” – a nickname he enthusiastically adopted – for his outspoken and often controversial opinions that frequently landed him in hot water.

Albanese said Hinch “lived a life rich in colour and free from fear”.

“As an interviewer, investigator and presenter he was much more than ‘the Human Headline’ he had a sense of the deeper story and the courage to cover it, come what may,” the PM wrote in a tribute share on social media.

“He held to those same instincts as a Senator and he fought illness with that same bravery. My sincere condolences to his family and his many friends.”

Derryn Hinch lived a life rich in colour and free from fear.

As an interviewer, investigator and presenter he was much more than ‘the Human Headline’ he had a sense of the deeper story and the courage to cover it, come what may.

He held to those same instincts as a Senator…

— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) July 10, 2026

The larger-than-life personality was remembered by listeners and 3AW colleagues for never shying away from speaking publicly about the issues he saw as important.

Former colleague and 3AW newsreader Denis O’Kane remembered Hinch as a renegade and a lot fun.

“Serious guy to a lot of people, but also when you’re out with him, a lot fun,” O’Kane said.

Hinch joined 3AW in 1979, leading the ratings with his aggressive style and remaining a host until 1987, then returning in the new millennium.

In the late 1980s and into the ’90s he was a familiar face on TV, where he had his own current affairs program on the Seven Network (then later Channel 10).

Hinch took his battle to hold those in power accountable to the political arena in 2016, forming Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party and being elected to the Senate at age 72.

Former federal Labor MP Emma Husar remembered Hinch in a social media post as “a very good friend, support and mentor”.

The pair were forced to reject media claims of an inappropriate sexual advance by Hinch directed at Husar, which both said never occurred.

“The teller of a great story, a crusader for justice and things which were never spoken about but needed to be,” Husar wrote.

“He was ahead of the #MeToo movement and the royal commission into institutional abuse.

“Today I am sad although I know he would want me to only remember the remarkable life he alway said he was lucky to have.”

Hinch had his fair share of off-air troubles, publicly discussing his battle with alcoholism which would come at great cost to his health.

He was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2007 and underwent an organ transplant in 2011.

In 2008, he served five months in home detention for naming two convicted child sex offenders.

He was also jailed for 50 days for refusing to pay a $100,000 fine for revealing the criminal past of Jill Meagher’s killer Adrian Ernest Bayley in 2013.

–with AAP