Chris Hunt

  
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After leaving school, I went on to do Arts and Law degrees at Sydney University. In many ways, the Arts part of this was just an extension of schooldays, since there was a group of a dozen or so people I used to constantly hang around with, nearly all of whom were from the class of '61. We called ourselves 'the boys', and thought (deluding ourselves, of course) that we were pretty terrific with our very male-oriented (drinking, gambling, football, surfing etc) lifestyle! Law was a fair bit more serious, and my results improved accordingly.

In 1968, while doing Law, I got a job working in the Ministerial Office of the then NSW Attorney-General, Ken McCaw, which started what became something of a lifetime career interest in government and politics, but always from the relatively safe vantage-point (not having to face elections) of the public service. Some subsequent personal career highlights have been:
  • providing policy advice, for a couple of years, to the amazing Bob Askin, with my alleged areas of expertise including crime and law enforcement!
  • after moving to Canberra in 1974, having a modest role in most of the extraordinary Constitutional and political events of the mid-1970's
  • a Government appointment as Deputy Commonwealth Ombudsman - a chance to see how the bureaucracy works from the public's perspective, and do something about it
  • some seven years as CEO of the ACT Attorney-General's Department, extending from the bizarre world of the first ACT government, through to the very challenging task of putting a complete law and justice system in place for the Territory, starting virtually from scratch
  • since leaving the public sector some 5 years ago, I have set up a practice in Canberra undertaking independent investigations and inquiries for government agencies - still dependent on the public purse, but much more according to my own terms!
On the personal front, I married Penny Murphy (NSGHS etc) in 1967, and we had two boys, now 27 and 26, who both work in the television industry. Penny and I went our separate ways in 1981, but remain friends. In 1986, I married Jenny, and we have had two daughters, now 15 and 13. I have this sneaking suspicion that the first round of grandchildren will arrive just about when I finally can get the two girls off our hands!

When I moved to Canberra in 1974, it was more for lifestyle than career reasons - it struck me as a great place to live and bring up children, and I haven't really changed my mind about it since then. I love visiting Sydney (especially wandering around Greenwich, where I grew up), but also enjoy many things that Canberra's uniquely placed to provide - running in the forests, bushwalking, skiing (mostly of the downhill kind) and following the mighty Brumbies!

We're currently building a house at Noosa (Sunshine Beach), and at some stage expect to retire to there. All 'passing trade' from the Class of 61 will be more than welcome to drop in!