John Owen Stone was born in Perth, Western Australia on 31 January 1929. He attended Perth Modern School and the University of Western Australia, where he represented the state in hockey (1948-49), was President of the Guild of Undergraduates, obtained a Bachelor of Science degree with First Class Honours (Mathematical Physics) (1950) and was Rhodes Scholar (1951). At Oxford University, he was awarded the James Webb Medley Scholarship for Economics (1953) and obtained First Class Honours in Politics, Philosophy and Economics (1954).
 
In 1954, Stone joined the Commonwealth Treasury as Assistant to the Senior Treasury representative in London for two years, during which time he spent six months on secondment to the Economic Section of the British Treasury. He later returned to London as the Commonwealth's Senior Treasury representative himself (1958-61), before becoming Assistant Secretary in charge of the Treasury's newly created Economic and Financial Surveys Branch (1962-66).  

Early in 1967, Stone became Executive Director for Australia, New Zealand and South Africa on the Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and on the Board of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) in Washington, DC. He served in this position until the end of 1970, also representing Lesotho and Swaziland as their Executive Director in the IMF during the final two years of that period.  

On returning to Canberra, Stone was appointed as First Assistant Secretary of the Revenue, Loans and Investment Division of the Treasury and Secretary of the Australian Loan Council and Secretary of the National Debt Commission. In November 1971 he became Deputy Secretary (Economic) with responsibility for the General Financial and Economic Policy Division and the Overseas Economic Relations Division. In 1973, he was also a member of the Committee to Review Continuing Expenditure Policies from the Previous Government (known as the Coombs Committee).

When the Department of Finance was created out of the old Department of the Treasury in late 1976, Stone remained a Deputy Secretary in Treasury with the same responsibilities as previously. His appointment as Secretary to the Treasury was announced in July 1978, although he did not take up the position until January the following year. He resigned that office and from the Commonwealth Public Service in September 1984.
 
During the next three years, Stone held appointments as Visiting Professor at the Centre of Policy Studies, Monash University (1984), Consultant (on a half-time basis) to the Melbourne-based firm of stockbrokers, Potter Partners and as a Senior Fellow of the Institute of Public Affairs, Melbourne (1985-87). He also contributed a weekly column to the Melbourne 'Herald', which was syndicated to newspapers in all other State capitals; undertook numerous public speaking engagements throughout Australia and overseas; and was inaugural President of the H R Nicholls Society (1986-89).

In April 1987, Stone accepted a consultancy with the Queensland Branch of the National Party of Australia to assist in fleshing out the 'single rate' tax proposals advanced by the then Premier of Queensland. He subsequently joined the National Party (June 1987) and was nominated for and elected as a Senator for Queensland, representing the National Party (term began July 1987).
 
During his Parliamentary career (1987-90), Stone was a member of the Shadow Ministry and spokesman on Finance, apart from a short period when he was dismissed for refusing to give an undertaking not to speak on matters outside his Shadow portfolio (September 1988-May 1989). He was also Leader of the National Party in the Senate; a member of Senate Standing Committees on Regulations and Ordinances and Legal and Constitutional Affairs (1987-90); and continued to write his weekly newspaper column, first for 'The Australian' and subsequently (until mid-1989) for the Murdoch Press Sunday newspapers throughout Australia.

In March 1990, Stone resigned from the Senate in order to stand for the House of Representatives in the Queensland seat of Fairfax. He was unsuccessful and subsequently resumed writing a weekly column for 'The Australian Financial Review' (1990-98); again became a Senior Fellow of the Institute of Public Affairs, Melbourne (1990-95); was Chairman of J T Campbell and Company Ltd (1994-96); and a member of the Commonwealth's Committee to Enquire into the Efficiency and Effectiveness of the Australian Defence Forces (1996-97).
 
Sources:

Commonwealth Directory 1972, pp 285, 291
Parliamentary Handbook 1988, pp 207-208; 1991, p 232
Who's Who in Australia 2004, 1919

Summary heading

  J O Stone (CP 489)

Unregistered links

  1973:  Committee to Review Continuing Expenditure Policies from the Previous Government (Coombs Committee) – Member

  1996 – 1997:  Committee to Enquire into the Efficiency and Effectiveness of the Australian Defence Forces - Member