The Albanese Government pays its respects to former Reserve Bank Governor Robert Alan Johnston AC who passed away today, aged 98.
Bob was a truly great Australian.
He dedicated his life to the service of Australia’s people and the transformation of the Australian economy.
Starting with the Commonwealth Bank as a 16-year-old in 1940, Bob served in the Air Force during the Second World War before returning to the bank in 1946.
He played an important role in helping to migrate the central banking functions of the Commonwealth Bank over to the newly created Reserve Bank of Australia and was subsequently appointed the RBA’s Chief Representative in London in 1976 and then Governor in 1982.
As Governor of the RBA from 1982 to 1989, Bob oversaw some of the most significant economic reforms in Australia’s history.
In what would be a defining decade for our nation in the Hawke/Keating years of the 1980s, Bob led the Bank through the floating of the Australian dollar, the deregulation of the banking system and helped shape the RBA into an important and respected institution in Australia’s finance landscape.
On behalf of the Government, I offer my deep and sincere condolences to his family and friends.