OBITUARY

John Kerin died on 29/3/2023.

The Hon. John Kerin was elected as a Fellow of the Academy in 2001 for his contributions to public policy formulation, resource management, development, and trade.

He was a member of the ACT Division and an active member of the Agriculture and Food Forum.

John Kerin briefly served as the Treasurer in 1991 but was primarily known for serving as Minister for Primary Industries and Energy (1987–1991) and the longest-serving Minister for Primary Industry (1983–1987). “Politics is like farming; no one is forced to do it, but someone has to,” he once wrote. He was thought to have been a strong potential candidate for a Labor Prime Minister.

John Kerin brought his expertise to the Bureau of Agricultural Economics and Federal Parliament. He played a crucial role in reforming agriculture and primary industries in Australia. He also drove reforms to boost farm productivity, including establishing research and development corporations.

For 17 years, John Kerin was involved in the Crawford Fund as the Chair of the NSW and ACT Committees, a member of the National Board of Directors and its Chair from 2010 –2017. John Kerin was also Chair of several bodies concerned with natural resource management in fisheries, forests, water, land, and animal health, such as the Australian Meat and Livestock Corporation.

John Kerin passed away on 29 March 2023, and is survived by his wife, June, and daughter, Heidi. 

John Kerin is an exceptional candidate for Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering. He was a senior Commonwealth Minister for 10 years.

He established the Australian Research & Development Corporations and the Bureau of Resource Sciences. He nurtured the Decade of Land Care and introduced fundamental management and marketing reforms including Australia's wool marketing.

Since retiring from Parliament he serves on company boards. He chairs four CRCs and the NSW State Committee of the Crawford Fund. He also chairs, or is member of, bodies concerned with natural resource management in fisheries, forests, water, land and animal health