Tribute to John Walsh AO
JOHN WALSH: 1950-2024
John Walsh AO was a passionate disability advocate, and esteemed actuary and business leader whose work has made Australia a fairer place. He left a lasting mark in Australia through his instrumental contributions to public health, the disability sector, business and the actuarial profession.
John’s passion for cricket is well-known, and his professional colleagues and the Institute came together in July to honour John’s achievements, unwavering commitment and camaraderie at a tribute celebration in the Noble Room at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Positivity and steely resilience
During the tribute celebration Robyn Kruk AO recognised John’s many great traits, his “intelligence, his positivity, and always steely resilience, in working to get something done and achieve change”. Also highlighting his fairness, warmth and decency, and his ability to handle often challenging political situations with leadership and coolness of head.
Robyn said that in his work life John took strength from many of the people gathered in the room, saying he epitomised a statement she had heard, that if you get the “right people, at the right table at the right time with the right knowledge – good things can happen.”
Great friendships and colleagues
Many of John’s professional colleagues were also great personal friends. Chris Latham worked with John for many decades, initially working together at Coopers & Lybrand and later PWC and spoke at the tribute celebration of how his views were always thought out with respect and principles. Highlighting the enormous time John gave to the disabled community outside of his employment activities and his numerous contributions to Royal Commissions. Chris said he had no doubt that John saved lives through his invaluable contributions.
Chris fondly recalled the wonderful times he shared with John. A highlight was their overseas trip with their families in 2006, where they also joined the International Actuaries Congress in Paris. Navigating Paris with a wheelchair proved challenging, especially on the cobblestone streets, but John always maintained his good humour. One memorable moment was when a group of big Frenchmen carried John up some 40 steps to get access the lift to the Eiffel Tower!
Chris also shared his thoughts to members of our Institute, which he believed John would endorse. He said, “Our Institute is some 130 years old and our sister bodies in the UK are about 170 years old. However, the origins of being a professional can be tracked back even further to Sir Francis Bacon who was born in 1561. He argued for the possibility of scientific knowledge based only on inductive reasoning and careful observation of events in nature. At the Institute of Actuaries in Staple Inn, in London, there is a quote of his on a panel of stained-glass windows. It says:”
“I hold every person a debtor to their profession; from which they seek to receive countenance and profit, so ought they have a duty to endeavour themselves by way of amends to be a help and ornament thereunto.”
Sarah Johnson worked very closely with John Walsh over the years, first meeting him during a university work placement at Price Waterhouse Coopers, where John was leading the healthcare division. Sarah recalls a story where she randomly encountered John and his friends in the park after this placement and called out to say hello. John often recounted this story over the next 20 years with good humour. Sarah noted, “Apparently, it was not usual for a student to walk up and chat with him. His reputation and greatness were not something I had comprehended in those early days.” Later, when Sarah started at PWC as a graduate, she worked with John on a project for long-term care for the catastrophically injured, marking the beginning of her career in this field.
Sarah worked on many reports in workers compensation and disability with John but the time and work with the Disability Investment Group on a proposed NDIS will always stick in her mind, working on many late nights to bring the work together and ready for John’s review. This report built a case for change, which the Productivity Commission later described as a system that was underfunded, unfair, fragmented, and inefficient. Sarah noted that, although in John’s own words the NDIS has not yet been implemented to his vision, “John, you went a very long way to achieving a funded, fair, and cohesive system that has improved the lives of so many people with disabilities.”
Encapsulating a high point of the profession
David Bowen spoke of the work he undertook with John in accident compensation and the NDIS. He recalled that after their first meeting in the 1980s, he left with an extensive list of papers to review and “an immense appreciation for this John Walsh fellow who I hadn’t met before.”
David noted John Walsh was the first actuary he had ever met, “so I started with a pretty high opinion of the actuarial profession after spending time with John. John encapsulated what I think is the absolute high point of the profession – which is behind those numbers, which you so elegantly manipulate, there lies real people. John understood that and he always thought about it in those terms – it was not about the numbers but what it represented.”
A wonderful mentor
Dr Rhonda Galbally AC, was previously a board member of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) and Principal Member of the Independent Advisory Council. Robyn was mentored by John Walsh, and shared a video message for the Tribute Celebration. She said, “John was a great Australian and without John, we would not have the NDIS. John was definitely one of the fathers of the NDIS. John was a pioneer in applying actuarial research to the urgent need for disability reform. His long-term actuarial work over many decades on risk, insurance and the need for investment in early intervention and rehabilitation, this lit the fire and provided the scaffolding for the NDIS.”
Rhonda also shared that, “John was a mentor on many other issues for many people, both with disabilities and without. He was my mentor and he was always on the end of a phone and he was kind, compassionate, tough and very exacting and rigorous at times, but always there. He was the best teacher and very generous. John will be so missed in the world of disability rights. He will be so missed as a colleague and friend.”
John Walsh Tribute
John’s work as a passionate disability advocate spanned several decades and was instrumental in the creation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, through appointments to the government’s Disability Investment Group and the Productivity Commission, and later serving on the Board of the NDIA from its establishment in 2013 until 2020.
John had personal experience of disability, having lived with quadriplegia following a rugby league accident in his early twenties. It was following this accident and his change in circumstances that he was encouraged to pursue an actuarial career, and after persevering to qualify and establish himself in the profession, he mentored and encouraged many younger members.
His early work led to the establishment of the world’s only population registry of spinal cord injury, and John became a pioneer and leader of actuarial involvement in the general insurance, injury scheme, health and disability sectors in Australia. He was recognised as Actuary of the Year in 2001 for his contribution to the profession, to business, government and the community.
John was a driving force behind the establishment of the NSW Lifetime Care and Support Scheme and most recently served on the board of iCare NSW and as Chair of the Dust Diseases Board. In healthcare, John worked toward better quality and performance, serving on the boards of the National Health Performance Authority and the Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Health Care.
John was honoured as a Member of the Order of Australia in 2011, then as an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2022 for distinguished service to public health through leadership and advocacy roles, also receiving the Prime Minister’s special award at the National Disability Awards in 2011. His legacy to the lives of people with disability is even more profound than these significant honours.
John Walsh Obituary
Read more on John Walsh’s incredible life in this 25 June 2024 Sydney Morning Herald article, Scholar who lived with quadriplegia helped nation rethink approach to disability.
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