Obituary: Sir John Robertson

Public servant. Died aged 76.

A former Chief Ombudsman and long-serving senior public servant, Sir John Robertson, has died in Wellington.

Sir John worked for 50 years as a public servant, starting as a draughting cadet in the Lands and Survey Department in 1942. He went on to become Secretary of Defence and later Secretary of Justice before his appointment as an Ombudsman in 1984.

He later served as Chief Ombudsman for eight years.

After service with the RNZAF in the Pacific during the Second World War, he returned to Wellington in time for his 21st birthday. While in the public service he qualified in accountancy and public administration.

He and his wife Phyllis raised three children in a state house in Wellington, before moving to Lower Hutt.

Sir John viewed his public service as serving two ends - as a steward of taxpayers' contributions and interests, and the provider of candid, reliable and impartial advice to ministers.

In his more senior roles Sir John developed a reputation for speaking his mind on important issues.

As Secretary of Defence in 1976 he was critical of the proposal to create a 200-mile economic zone around NZ. He said the State did not have the means to police it because the armed forces were "woefully unprepared".

After his public criticism the equipment needed to police the zone was forthcoming.

As Secretary of Justice Sir John had to deal with the collapse of the Public Service Investment Society in 1979. There was personal loss involved, with his daughter and son-in-law having savings in the PSIS. It was a sign of his integrity that Sir John never warned them of their pending predicament.

As Ombudsman, Sir John was instrumental in requiring highly paid executives of state owned enterprises to make details of their salaries public.

In his final report as Chief Ombudsman in 1994, he wrote: "I am encouraged and heartened by the pragmatic good sense of all New Zealanders who retain the healthy characteristics of questioning those in authority until they are satisfied that there is good reason for what has happened to them, or changed the system to ensure that they are not disadvantaged again."

His colleagues say Sir John had a commitment to old-style public service ethics but with a willingness to adapt to the technological changes and managerial philosophies which characterised most of the last two decades.

Sir John refused to join the Wellington Club until it admitted women to its membership and also refused to disclose, even to members of his family, who he voted for on election day - the true mark of a neutral public servant.