Background
Vernon was born in Portsmouth, United Kingdom in 1932 to John Ernest Vernon (a writer in the Royal Navy) and Caroline Clark Vernon (later a cryptologist in the Royal Navy).
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Vernon was born in Portsmouth, United Kingdom in 1932 to John Ernest Vernon (a writer in the Royal Navy) and Caroline Clark Vernon (later a cryptologist in the Royal Navy).
He emigrated to Australia in 1955 and settled in Canberra, Australia. He was employed by the Australian National University in 1960 and worked on the dating of moon rocks returned to earth by the Apollo missions. In 1972 he became the manager of the Research School of Earth Sciences, a position he held until 1988.
As an early Australian consumer activist, he was best known for his work on improving condom reliability, banning lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) in children"s toys and house paint throughout Australia, improving car safety, banning certain pesticides in the Asia-Pacific Region and stopping the dumping of unsafe products into third world countries.
He was appointed Chairman of the Australian Capital Territory Consumer Affairs Council in 1973 by the Minister for Territories, Keppel Enderby Member of Parliament and held that position until 1993. He helped establish the Australian Federation of Consumer Organizations (Associated Fuel Pump Systems Corporation ) (now known as the Consumers" Federation of Australia (CFA)) and with Warren Braren of Consumers Union (United States of America) he turned the International Organization of Consumer Unions (IOCU) (now known as Consumers International) concept for a worldwide "Consumer Interpol" into a reality.
Vernon married in 1959 to Jeanette Wilkinson. The couple had two children, one of whom is writer David Vernon.
Michael Vernon died, aged 61, from a rare bone cancer, multiple myeloma, which was attributed to his paid work with radioactive materials at Australia"s first major uranium mine in Rum Jungle in the Northern Territory and later at the Australian National University Research School of Physical Sciences and Research School of Earth Sciences.
He was a member of the Australian Press Council and held many other positions on Government boards and committees.