Page 3001 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 17 October 2007
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Jim left the Air Force in 1971, having participated in some major events. He was instrumental in procuring and doing a lot of the legwork for the purchase of the F111—probably one of the greatest buys the Royal Australian Air Force has ever made. “The pig”, as it was affectionately known, is flying still and Jim had a lot to do with working out and dotting all the i’s and crossing the t’s in relation to the purchase of the F111. He left the Air Force, joined the commonwealth public service and, as the Chief Minister said, rose to be first assistant auditor of the federal public service. He was appointed in 1990 as the first ACT Auditor-General.
He was a man of great integrity, respected by both sides. He was instrumental in setting up a fine audit office and indeed in working on the finances to start giving the ACT some credibility. It was because of public servants like Jim, who put in so much in those early days, that we are in the situation we are today with a public service that is professional and with some good systems in place. That we have good systems in place, certainly in relation to the first audit office, is largely because of Jim O’Neill.
He was a great family man. He studied and obtained his university degrees in the 1980s. He would often be studying at home, sprawled out on the lounge with his books everywhere, keeping one eye on the TV to see what was happening with the races. Elaine would get the kids out so that Jim could study in peace. But being a great family man he would always make time for them on Sunday.
Jim, as the Chief Minister said, was involved in a large number of organisations, particularly organisations where he would be of great assistance, like the Carmelites, and he was a doyen of St Thomas More parish in Campbell. The funeral was held at Watson because the church at Campbell was deemed to be simply too small for the large number of people who turned out to pay their tributes to this wonderful Canberran and this fine public servant in more ways than one. He was actively involved right to his death with the Royal Life Saving Society and the organ donors and other organisations that the Chief Minister has mentioned.
Jim’s death was quite a shock. I knew Jim well. I would see Jim regularly—probably about once a month. On occasions Jim, Trevor Kaine, Greg Cornwell, Harold Hird and I would meet for lunch, probably a couple of times a year, and when our old former Chief Minister Trevor Kaine became very ill with his stroke Jim would regularly give me updates and he would pass on updates too to Harold and Greg as to Trevor’s progress. Indeed, it was only a couple of weeks ago that Jim rang me just to tell me how Trevor was travelling and I made a point of saying, “I must go and see him when I can at Mirinjani.”
Jim was having a beer with one of his sons down in Sydney Saturday a week ago. He had a couple of beers and actually fell off his stool. He got picked up, he did not think anything was remiss, they put on a few bets, they walked the short distance to his son’s home and it was there that he died. He had had some heart trouble about seven or eight years previously. This time, unfortunately, it was quick but it was fatal. However, he was doing something he thoroughly enjoyed—being with family, having a good yarn, telling a few jokes, having a punt—when he tragically passed away.
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