Gary Gray (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service and Integrity) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the life and death of Professor Jack Richardson, the first Commonwealth Ombudsman. Professor Jack Richardson was a distinguished law academic and the inaugural Commonwealth Ombudsman. He died on 13 June 2011, aged 90. Professor Richardson was a renowned expert in trade practices law, air and space law and Australian federalism, publishing in the vicinity of 60 books on these subjects. Educated at Geelong College and Melbourne University, Professor Richardson practised as a barrister for many years before becoming secretary of the joint parliamentary committee that reviewed the Australian Constitution in the late 1950s. He joined the Australian National University in 1961 as Dean of the Faculty of Law and in 1977 was appointed emeritus professor. In the same year he became Australia's first Commonwealth Ombudsman.

Before the establishment of the ombudsman's office, it was recognised that existing avenues of redress for complaints with administrative actions and decisions were complex, expensive and difficult for many Australians. The establishment of the Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman in 1977 was an important innovation in how government deals with concerns and grievances of individual citizens. It would provide the citizen with a legitimate complaint about official action with access to any impartial investigator to inquire into that matter. The establishment and development of this challenging role clearly required an individual of exceptional character to perform it. On 17 March 1977, Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser announced the appointment, saying Professor Richardson was 'a distinguished academic of high Australian and international standing who will bring to this office the qualities and experience which are necessary to perform this challenging role.'

In July 1977 Professor Richardson established the Commonwealth Ombudsman's office in Canberra, with five staff members overseeing the first critical years and guidance of the office through the substantial changes and growth in jurisdiction and case load. He developed the office's reputation for intellectual rigour and a robust approach to public administration. He fostered effective relationships with the department heads, though many took exception to his 1982 milk carton advertising campaign in Canberra with the slogan 'Bamboozled by the bureaucracy? Call the Ombudsman.' With the cooperation of agencies, the Ombudsman began conducting more informal complaint inquiries to achieve faster resolution of less complex complaints. During his tenure he established offices across the country in order to improve access to this important service. He retired as Commonwealth Ombudsman on 23 September 1985. Professor Richardson felt his greatest contribution to the role was to introduce a comprehensive oral complaint mechanism which led to significant increases in complaints. Towards the end of his time as Ombudsman, the total number of approaches the office had received exceeded 20,000.

Professor Richardson was recognised for his contribution to the field. In 1984 he was awarded the Officer of the Order of Australia and in 2002 the Ombudsman's office established the Jack Richardson Prize in Administrative Law at the ANU in recognition of the contributions that he had made. This prize is awarded for the best essay by an undergraduate student in administrative law. The Commonwealth Ombudsman is now a key national integrity agency with over 140 staff. While its function and role have expanded, its core activities and value to the community have changed little, thanks to the great contribution made by Professor Richardson in its formative years.

We acknowledge Jack Richardson and the contribution that he has made to the integrity of Australian government and public administration.

Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In accordance with standing order 193 the time for constituency statements has concluded.