Former RBA governor Robert Alan Johnston AC passes away

Mr Johnston, known to friends, family, and colleagues as “Bob”, served as the Reserve Bank’s governor from 1982 to 1989. In 1940, he joined the Commonwealth Bank of Australia at the age of 16 before he joined the Reserve Bank.

Mr Johnston enlisted in the RAAF in 1943 as a radio operator, serving in various locations throughout the remainder of World War II, including deployments in Darwin and Morotai, Indonesia.

He returned to the bank in 1946, working in the securities department and the economics department prior to his appointment as assistant secretary in 1957.

Mr Johnston was then appointed as the bank’s chief representative in London in 1976, which was followed by a secondment to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, part of the World Bank Group in Washington, DC.

Following his return to the Reserve Bank in 1979, he was involved in the Campbell Inquiry into the Australian financial system and became the bank’s representative on the government taskforce that examined the committee’s recommendations.

He was appointed as governor of the Reserve Bank in August 1982, serving a term of seven years. Mr Johnston presided over significant financial system reforms during his tenure, such as the move that led to the floating of the Australian dollar, the deregulation of the banking system, and the Reserve Bank’s evolution into a regulatory body.

Additionally, Mr Johnston helped steer the economy through turbulent times including the currency crises of the mid-1980s and the October 1987 stock market crash.

In 1986, he was made a Companion of the Order of Australia for his services to the banking industry.

Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the Albanese government pays its respects to the former governor.

“Bob was a truly great Australian,” the Treasurer said.

“He dedicated his life to the service of Australia’s people and the transformation of the Australian economy.

“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.”

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