John Francis McGrath (7 September 1939 – 4 July 2021) was an Australian politician. He was born in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Port Fairy Port Fairy (historically known as Belfast) is a coastal town in south-western Victoria, Australia. It lies on the Princes Highway in the Shire of Moyne, west of Warrnambool and west of Melbourne, at the point where the Moyne River enters the ...

, only son to Jack and Mollie. He grew up, with sisters Mary and Cath, on a dairy farm in

Killarney Killarney ( ; ga, Cill Airne , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Ross Cast ...

and attended St. Brigids Primary School Crossley and St. Joseph's Christian Brothers College in

Warrnambool Warrnambool ( Maar: ''Peetoop'' or ''Wheringkernitch'' or ''Warrnambool'') is a city on the south-western coast of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Warrnambool had a population of 35,743. Situated on the Princes Highway, Warrnambool (A ...

. He married Eileen Barling in 1961 and they had 5 children, Darren, Shane, Sherry, Karen and Joanne. From 1963 he was a credit manager, becoming a commercial retail manager in 1967 and a small business operator in 1972. He was presented with a Warrnambool City Council Citizenship award in 1983 for service to the Community as Chair of the Foreshore Committee of Management, Chair of South West Credit Union, Chair of CBC School Council, Chair of Western Region Alcohol and Drug Centre. As a member of the National Party, he was elected to the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presidin ...

in 1985 as the member for

. In that year he was appointed National Party Spokesman for Housing, moving to Transport and Labour in 1988 with the additional responsibility of Party Whip. In 1992 he was appointed Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees, a post he held until his retirement from politics in 1999. His two sons were both impacted by mental health, his elder son Darren is today successfully living with the challenges of his mental health, but unfortunately his younger son Shane killed himself in 1993. These life experiences have seen John become engaged in advocating for families at state and national levels. He was the inaugural chair of Mental Health Australia, founding director and deputy chair of Beyond Blue, inaugural chair of the Mental Health Professionals Network, patron and former chair of the Victorian Mental Health Carers network (Tandem), board director of headspace and On the Line. Other involvements included Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatry, Private Psychiatric Services, Carers Victoria, Carers Australia, National Advisory Council for Suicide Prevention and Australian Rotary Health Foundation. John remarried in 1996, to Lyn Myers. John was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2008 for services to mental health, Victorian Parliament and National Party of Australia. McGrath died on 4 July 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGrath, John 1939 births 2021 deaths National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Members of the Order of Australia People from Port Fairy