Obituaries Australia

Dr George Malajczuk died on 18 January, aged 52, after a battle with cancer.

George worked with the Forests Department and the Department of Conservation & Land Management from 1967, filling the position of Principal Economics Officer then Director of Economics from 1986. After graduating B.Sc. in Forestry with Honours from the ANU, he studied at Yale University from 1970, receiving his M.F., M.S., M.Phil. and then Ph.D. in economics and management in 1978. In 1974 he was admitted to the Yale Chapter of Sigma Xi (the Scientific Research Society of North America). He returned to Yale briefly as a Visiting Fellow in 1984.

After re-joining the Forests Department in 1978 George carried out trail-blazing work in econometric analysis of demand for timber products, cost-benefit analysis of large scale afforestation projects and techniques for determination of log royalty and mining compensation. His intellect and dedication were also behind major improvements in the finances of the Department as well as advances in the economics of the innovative plantation sharefarming schemes pioneered by CALM.

Unfortunately, much of his work was of a confidential nature and George did not receive the credit that would have been due to him from formal publication of his work. However, he enjoyed a high reputation among forest economists in Australia and internationally. His skills were recognised when he was offered a position last year with the FAO in Rome, a position he was unable to take up due to his illness.

George was a modest and humble man, always diffident about his achievements. He will be sadly missed by his many friends, in Western Australia and elsewhere.