Justice for John: ‘I am very happy that it will create a precedent’

April 16, 2026 — 3:37pm

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The voice on the other end of the phone was frail but happy. We both knew the man on the line was dying, but he was ringing with good news.

I had only met John Kelleher a few weeks earlier to tell his story.

For more than 30 years he had been the preeminent forensic scientist in the specialised Victoria Police Fire and Explosives Unit.

He was considered so valuable he went past the age when he wanted to retire because he was so vital in so many crucial investigations and the tobacco war fires meant he had never been so busy.

Then last year he was diagnosed with aggressive esophageal cancer and retired on the spot.

He attended over 7000 scenes, and in the early days his protective gear consisted of gumboots and overalls.

The link between multiple forms of cancer, including esophageal, has long been acknowledged and yet, his submission that his pending death was work related had been knocked back.

For firefighters there is presumptive compensation – meaning that cancers such as John’s are automatically considered work related.

But when he put in his claim to Victoria Police’s WorkSafe agent, Gallagher and Bassett, the reviewers pointed out that as he had smoked some 30 years ago his submission would be rejected.

This investigator gave his life to the job: Is it slowly killing him?

We wrote a Naked City column on John and his career spent trying to find justice, only to be a victim of a terrible injustice in his final days.

It sparked dozens of comments and old friends reaching out to him.

A few days after publication John rang, his voice husky, his body failing but his mood bright.

He had just been contacted by Gallagher and Bassett who had reversed the decision.

I don’t think it was a decision based on trying to avoid bad publicity. I think someone at Gallagher and Bassett read the story and came to the only possible conclusion.

Denying John’s claim was complete bullshit.

John said, “I am very happy that it will create a precedent, so my colleagues will be covered. It shows the pen is mightier than the sword.”

Within days of the news he was gone. He died peacefully on Monday.

Here are some of the comments from police who worked with him. “John was one of a kind … Dead set legend of Vicpol … John was a master of his very specialised field … So helpful and always willing to explain things to a young dumb detective.”

While he was not a police officer his name should be included in official Victoria Police records of those who died from doing their duty.

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