A true statesman who served on many fronts
FORMER Governor-General, Major General, the Hon Michael Jeffery, was a career soldier who fought in several conflicts abroad and was decorated with a Military Cross for action during his time in Vietnam.
He served as Governor of Western Australia and as Governor-General until his retirement in 2008. Since then he devoted himself to addressing what he often said was the greatest battle that we in our nation are ever likely face – more than any other in which we have partaken since before Federation – and that was the feeding of our nation in a world with ever growing population.
Moreover, he predicted future battles will be fought over water, rapidly becoming in our country – and most other countries in the world today – an ever-diminishing resource and commodity.
General Jeffery spent the last 12 years of his life working tirelessly, drawing attention
P.M Button, Cook, ACT to the need for all parties to focus on water and soil resources and the growing of crops vital for everyone’s future subsistence.
He knocked on many doors from Prime Ministers to the man on the land to focus attention on the challenges he foresaw and the actions now needed.
In July 2019 during the Dubbo drought conference, the Prime Minister announced the establishment of a special unit of his own department to focus on and address the challenges. He installed General Jeffery as the National Soils advocate.
It was with some considerable irony that he had achieved this success, as shortly after, he was diagnosed with an incurable cancer. Still, he carried on until he could do no more.
Sadly, he passed away peacefully on December 18 at 83 years of age still wanting to do more. In his 12 years of retirement General Jeffery had no time to write his memoirs or tell the story of a life of service, commitment and devotion to our country.
His story, his memoir, will live on in his predictions and the minds of the men and women on the land as well as those bureaucrats who have now been charged to fight on in his absence. Vale Major General, the very Hon, Michael Jeffery AC, AO, (Mil), CVO, MC, ret’d..