His first two postings involved mastering two exacting (for Westerners) tonal languages.

His language training at RAAF base at Point Cook south-west of Melbourne not only prepared him for two successful Asian tours but, via a blind date facilitated by his Harlequins Rugby mates, he met Susan White who would become the love of his life and mother of his two remarkable daughters.

Peter was a man of multiple skills with next stop a leadership role in the finance industry as head of the national Credit Union body CUSCAL. He took on the big banks and won a fierce battle for access to the bankcard payments system. He also led a movement working with the “two Regs” – Elliot and Fowler – for structural rationalisation of the sector that translated into fewer, stronger credit unions.

He then pivoted again to launch Political Reference Service (PRS), a successful information business for companies and organisations whereby subscribers would have anything said or published in or by the national parliament on their desk the same day or next.

After selling PRS, he reverted to his primary passion outside of family, which, simply put, was “better government”. He believed transparent and accountable government was the bedrock of a decent society. Privacy policy, whistleblower legislation and related issues were integral to this interest/obsession.

He also became one of the most sought after and respected trainers of senior public servants in Canberra, and elsewhere, on the art of public policy formulation. Concurrently he pursued a practice advocating for, training in, and advising on, all sides of the freedom of information (FOI) landscape.

In short, he was the go-to man in Australia for FOI help and open government or transparency advice at whatever level one operated. His net was cast widely from his Potts Point eyrie: from journos grappling with a new reporting round to senior business figures and indeed, on several occasions, Paul Keating, one of the nation’s most celebrated and impactful prime ministers. The latter happened to live around the corner and would occasionally drop in on the Victoria St cafe confabulations of the “Potts Point Posse” – a small group of foreign affairs alumni named Pocock, McDonald and Timmins with frequent guest appearances by Woolcott and Burdekin.

In the noughties, Peter was an early leader in the Right to Know movement, worked on projects with the Australian Law Reform Commission and led the establishment of the Australian Open Government Partnership Network in 2015.

In 2017, to no one’s surprise, he was awarded the Press Freedom Medal by the Australian Press Council, following on from the Herald’s Kate McClymont the previous year.

Peter advised the NSW government on implementing FOI legislation and consulted widely, both formally and informally, to journalists and others who sought to glean, nay extract, information from a local council, the state, or the feds.

Although an excellent public speaker and facilitator he was never a show pony, just a humble and passionate believer in the concept that the community had a right to know what their elected governments were up to.

He appeared in the press and on ABC radio and television over several decades and worked in the background voluntarily with many senior journalists, particularly at The Sydney Morning Herald, most notably Matthew Moore, Anne Davies and Linton Besser.

Davies and Timmins worked on shining a light on the Angus Taylor-related “Grassgate” saga in Monaro NSW, also known as the Jam Land case, where critically endangered grasslands were cleared without approval.

The fact that any Sydneysider with an immune disorder can now check which restaurants have been fined for poor hygiene practices before venturing out for a meal is a direct result of Peter’s passion for transparency and his collaboration with Matthew Moore.

The two caused the NSW government to pass a law resulting in the NSW Food Authority publicly listing all fines issued in the last 12 months – until then, they were a secret. Moore even had a Timmins-inspired Herald column, “What They Won’t Tell You!”

Peter was also a contributing writer for the Crikey publication. His most recent and final piece reeked of his frustration and disappointment with the current federal attorney’s lack of progress on transparency, a sentiment shared by this writer.

Peter was an outwardly stoic man of scholarship and calm measure. However, he would give vent to his mostly hidden inner-showman as he became in high demand for conducting hypotheticals as a training device for public and corporate clients to a Geoffrey Robinson standard.

His rugby prowess was a source of muted pride. He played in the backline of Randwick Galloping Greens’ all-conquering (save for the grand final) 1963 second-grade team, which included a Cleary (Denis, not Michael) and a Towers (Tom, not Cyril), among others. Legend has it he did play one game in the firsts, but we await verification.

A sad coda to his passion for decency occurred only last year: 2023 was the significant milestone year of his high school, a prominent Sydney catholic college. Peter suggested the occasion was a fitting time for a public apology regarding the school’s lack of forthright action concerning at least one known offending staff member who was relocated rather than brought to account. Peter lost some friends and was blocked from the Facebook group. He chose not to attend the celebrations.

The failure of The Voice referendum, for which he actively campaigned despite the strain of his illness, including regular blood transfusions at the Garvan, was another source of melancholy.

For more than a decade Peter was the selfless and tireless carer for Susan, his wife of 53 years, as she battled an increasingly severe Parkinsons-like disease. Peter Brock beat him to the “Peter Perfect” sobriquet, but those in his inner circle were firm in the belief there was more than one Saint Peter.

Peter Timmins is survived by his daughters Emma and Kate, who continue the family tradition of social service, and four grandsons.