Brian Owler

Brian K Owler is an Australian neurosurgeon who was elected as president of the Australian Medical Association in May 2014 — just after the release of a controversial budget by the Abbott Government which included elements that, if passed, would have introduced patient co-payments for general practice services and cut funding to public hospitals and Indigenous health programs. Owler has opposed the Abbott government's Medicare copayment. Closer to home, this budget also denied funding to establish the Australasian Shunt Registry which was developed by Owler in order to address the relatively high rate of device-related complications in the management of hydrocephalus.

Owler holds the position of Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery, Children's Hospital at Westmead Clinical School (also known as Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children), University of Sydney. He operates on paediatric and adult conditions in several Sydney hospitals, including Westmead Hospital, Sydney Adventist Hospital and Macquarie University Hospital.

Owler is involved in several clinical studies including those on the topic of normal pressure hydrocephalus and deep brain stimulation surgery for the treatment of cerebral palsy. He has co-authored more than 40 academic papers. He has also written several opinion pieces for leading Australian papers and online media.

Owler is a driving force and the face of the NSW 'Don’t Rush' anti-speeding campaign, and has appeared on billboards and in television ads warning of the risks and damage associated with road accidents. This advocacy arose from discussions with the relevant state minister while Owler was president of the NSW branch of the Australian Medical Association.

In 2015, The Medical Journal of Australia removed professor Stephen Leeder, formerly the journal's editor-in-chief after he criticised the decision to outsource production of the journal to the global publishing giant Elsevier. All but one of the AMJ's editorial advisory committee resigned following the decision to sack Leeder, and wrote to Owler asking him to review the decision.

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