Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to honour the life of the late John Baker AM ESM. Known to all as JB, he joined the Brighton Surf Lifesaving Club in 1977 as a nipper, and I'm sure he wouldn't have minded me saying he took to it like a duck to water. There started an almost 50-year life of service to surf lifesaving and, through that, service to the broader community. At Brighton, he became the under-14 club champion, and, as part of the famous Brighton Beach team, won six state and Australian titles in the following six years, culminating in the club trophy for best Australian title competitors in 1988. He became a patrol captain in the late 1980s and eventually accumulated the highest number of patrolling hours in Brighton Surf Lifesaving Club's history.

After marrying Jo and starting a family, he, like so many committed surf lifesaving club members, shared his love with his children, Harry, Kate and Annabel, who joined him on active patrols. His service to Brighton Surf Lifesaving Club didn't finish on the beaches. In the 1990s, he joined the club's management committee and eventually became state president of Surf Life Saving South Australia, then national president of Surf Life Saving Australia and eventually also vice-president of the International Life Saving Federation based in Belgium. In 1994, he joined the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter, initially as a crewman on patrols and eventually as a director. His over 31 years of service to helicopter patrols will be long remembered, not least by the many in the broader surf lifesaving community who fondly remember his voice over the radio. While his service was driven by passion for the craft of surf lifesaving and not for the accolades, nonetheless he was awarded a well-deserved Emergency Services Medal in 2017 and a Member of the Order of Australia in 2024.

His community service to surf lifesaving was extensive, but he was generous with his time to other organisations as well. He also served on the boards of the Australian Red Cross, the Smith Family and the Virtual War Memorial. As with so many people who give so generously of their time, he was also very successful in his work career. He turned a BA at Flinders University and TAFE training in marketing into an award-winning advertising career. At the time of his death, he was managing director of campaign consultancy and executive director of renowned marketing communications agency KWP and Partners, as well as chair of the V-Star Powered Lift Aviation.

I last saw JB and Jo at the Brighton Surf Lifesaving Club awards a couple of weeks ago, and he was, as always, in fine form. His sudden death has devastated the Brighton surf lifesaving community and the broader surf lifesaving community. My condolences go to his wife, Jo, and to his children Harry, Kate and Annabel. He will be missed. His was a life well-lived and a life cut short too soon.

May he rest in peace.

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