The FRDC team was saddened at the passing of Australian agriculture reformist and advocate, the Hon John Kerin AO, former Minister for Primary Industries and Energy from 1983 and 1993.
Australian politics and agriculture, fishing and forestry industries lost a legend on 29 March 2023 with the death of the Hon. John Kerin.
Kerin was appointed Minister for Primary Industries and Energy in 1983 by Prime Minister Bob Hawke who selected him for his significant experience in economics, along with working with commodities and agricultural policy.
A major feature of his ministry was his ongoing commitment to honest communication. He delivered hundreds of personal presentations at farmer meetings and conferences, regularly providing detailed information to the media and public. He delivered three major statements on rural research and development, one with the personal involvement of Prime Minister Bob Hawke.
John Kerin is also known for creating the 1989 PIRD Act (Primary Industries Research and Development) – the legislation underpinning the establishment of the rural research and development corporations. FRDC was formed as a statutory corporation under this Act in 1991.
Australian leaders pay tribute
Senator the Hon Murray Watt, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, took to social media to pay tribute.
Watt said that Kerin was “Australia’s best and most reformist Agriculture Minister. Always generous with his advice to me and other Ministers.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he brought “his deep experience of the land to federal Parliament” and that he would be greatly missed.
Previous FRDC Managing Director Peter Dundas-Smith said, “I could talk to him as if he wasn’t a politician but rather someone who was very informed about the industry and really interested in its well-being, and in the work, we were doing to underpin its prosperity.”
To this day, there continues to be John Kerin and the Hawke Government initiatives embedded in numerous ongoing policies and programs.
FRDC acknowledges the great contribution John Kerin made to establishing the rural research and development corporations and we send sincere condolences to John’s family, friends, and many colleagues.
