John Leslie Carrick, AC, KCMG is an former soldier and politician
After completing a degree in economics at the University of Sydney in 1941 John Carrick enlisted in Australian Army. While serving with the Sparrow Force in Timor he was captured by the Japanese and spent the rest of the war years in Changi prison camp. He also worked on the notorious Burma Railway.
After returning to civilian life Carrick was engaged as a research officer by the New South Wales Liberal Party. He continued to work for the party, in cluding 23 years as General Secretary, until he was elected as a senator in 1971. During the Fraser government's term he was given the portfolios of Minister for Education (1975-1979) and Minister for National Development and Energy (1979-1983) and between 1978 and 1982 served as Vice-President of the Executive Council. Carrick was knighted in 1982 for his services to the Australian parliament.
After retiring from politics in 1987 Carrick became Chairman of the Committee of Review of New South Wales Schools (1888-1989), and during his tenure oversaw a comprehensive inquiry that lead to the drafting of 1990 Education Reform Act. From 1992 to 1995 he was a member of the New South Wales Ministerial Advisory Council for Teacher Education, and between 1992 and 2001 served on the Advisory Board of the Macquarie University Institute of Early Childhood. Since 1998, he has been the chairman of the Advisory Committee, Gifted Education Research, Resource and Information Centre at the University of New South Wales. He became chairman of the Macquarie University Institute of Early Childhood Foundation in 2001.
Graeme Starr's biography, Carrick: Principles, Politics, and Policy, was published by Connor Court Press in 2012.
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