Walker’s best was cancer drug
RON Walker – the former Melbourne lord mayor and federal treasurer of the Liberal Party – made millions, brought the Grand Prix and the Commonwealth Games to the city and wielded power and influence for nearly half a century. But Mr Walker, who died on Tuesday aged 78, was proudest of his backing for the melanoma drug Keytruda. “I’d like to think that was my greatest achievement in 50-odd years of public life,” he said two years ago. Close to death in 2012, he went overseas to take part in a trial of the drug and later pushed for its inclusion in the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.