Jones was a larger-than-life character. Ebullient, insightful, erudite, possessing a huge breadth of knowledge, he was at the same time a gentle, generous personality with a matey charm and a ready sense of fun. Barry Jones did nothing by halves, throwing himself into every task with a great enthusiasm and a whirlwind of activity.

A Queenslander, Jones studied economics at the University of Queensland where he was also a tutor and, for a time, President of Union College. He was also a keen oarsman and a member of the rowing team.

He worked briefly as a secondary teacher in Brisbane before entering the Commonwealth Public Service in Canberra, beginning in the Department of Foreign Affairs.

From there he joined Resources and Energy Department, first in the Regional Development Division before moving to Petroleum Division and rising to be head of the Pricing and Taxation Branch in the early 1980s.

This was a period of turbulent change for the Australian petroleum industry as the Hawke Government’s resources ministers Senator Peter Walsh and then Senator Gareth Evans introduced the Resource Rent Tax and began the deregulation of the import parity pricing arrangements for crude oil. Behind the scenes, Jones and his team were in the thick of these moves.

In 1986 Jones went to Corporate Policy Division where he became involved in formulating greenhouse policy. In 1989 he was to the Australian Embassy in Paris where he served as the Australian representative to the International Energy Agency as well as the Nuclear Energy Agency and the OECD Agriculture Committee.

In this capacity he attended the first international meeting on Climate Change at Chantilly, Virginia in 1991 and represented Australia in the negotiations leading up to the critical follow-up meeting in Rio de Janeiro.

Throughout this period Jones left his indelible mark. He worked hard to understand the issues and his forthright presentations did much to turn the IEA’s focus away from a purely Eurocentric stance. He showed that Australia had a contribution to make on the international stage.

But Paris and France also weaved their own spells on him. Already a long-time, passionate and well-read student of military history – particularly the Napoleonic era – he took time to further his knowledge with visits to battlefields throughout Europe.

He also acquired a detailed knowledge of, and an appreciation for, fine French cuisine and wine, notably champagne. This fitted his style of living life to the full and benefited all who shared his dining table.

Jones came back to Australia in 1992 and went into the government’s Coal and Minerals Division where he worked on mining sector issues, especially those involving native title.

Then he moved to the other side of the table by working with industry associations.

In 1994 he was appointed head of the Pulp and Paper Manufacturers’ Federation of Australia, soon lifting this body’s profile in Canberra and elsewhere with his strong leadership style. In 1997 Jones became executive director of APPEA where he made full use of his understanding of the resources industries and the workings of government and the public service over a period of eight years until his retirement in July this year.

He realised, for instance, that the RRT system should not be a static regime – rather it should evolve with the changing emphasis on national energy reserves and security in the new millennium. He saw and tried to correct the lack of government focus on domestic gas in Australia, rather than let it just evolve of its own accord. He also brought to the table his in-depth knowledge of native title and land access issues.

And he was instrumental in establishing the Australian Industry Greenhouse Network – a group of energy-related industry associations and individual businesses that continues to contribute to the climate change policy debate.

Colleagues in industry and government recall Jones as a true professional dedicated to finding collaborative, workable and sensible solutions and formulating policy in a rigorous way. What’s more, he tackled all issues with the national interest in mind.

Some only saw his exuberant side. But he had the ability to think issues through and would spend hours on the phone in a dedicated quest to understand all aspects of a debate. Intelligent and probing, he made people think.

He was certainly no lackey to government and not afraid to speak his mind. Many didn’t thank him for this frank approach, but all respected his opinion and his grasp of the issues.

Jones’ leadership of APPEA made him a prominent industry spokesman. He was popular with the media, taking time to explain the issues. He was clear and concise and could think on his feet, often ready with an answer before a journalist’s question had been fully uttered.

Instead of exasperation when an explanation did not satisfy, he would smile and patiently begin again with a favourite preface: ‘Look, what you people don’t understand …’

His most recent concerns for the industry and the nation were the decline of indigenous oil reserves and the falling exploration activity, particularly in frontier areas. He was well aware there were no pat answers.

In my own final interview with him just before his retirement, Jones admitted that there was no one-size-fit-all solution to fit the needs of all members of the industry because each company reacted to different drivers.

He also saw that tinkering around the edges of energy policy was not enough. There needed to be a major revision, a circuit breaker that would establish internationally competitive exploration incentives in Australia well into the future. APPEA, he said, was working on that.

For APPEA staff Jones sometimes showed a stern, even imperious exterior. But a softer, generous side and a strong sense of humour were soon revealed. At his farewell in July he accepted with a roar of laughter a T-shirt emblazoned with another favourite saying: ‘This is not a participatory democracy’.

Whether it was an industry meeting, presentation to government or a media conference, no one was ever in any doubt that Barry Jones was in the room.