Fed: Five new departmental secretaries appointed in shake up

AAP General News (Australia)
08-14-2009
Fed: Five new departmental secretaries appointed in shake up

SYDNEY, Aug 14 AAP - Five new departmental secretaries have been appointed by Prime
Minister Kevin Rudd, including new heads of defence, foreign affairs and finance.

Mr Rudd has reassigned three senior departmental bosses, including Defence's Nick Warner
and Patricia Scott in broadband communications and the digital economy, The Australian
newspaper reports.

It is the first major shake-up of public service heads since Labor took office 20 months ago.

Mr Rudd has appointed diplomat Dennis Richardson to head foreign affairs and said finance
department chief Ian Watt, 59, would take on the role of secretary of the Department of
Defence.

Mr Richardson, 62, Australia's ambassador to Washington and a former ASIO chief, will
replace Michael L'Estrange in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Mr L'Estrange, 56, a former high commissioner to London, is expected to take up a "senior
position" in Australia.

"Discussions with Mr L'Estrange about this senior position in government to which he
may wish to accept appointment are proceeding," Mr Rudd said in a statement.

He said the government would move to appoint a new ambassador to the US "in due course".

Mr Warner will leave defence to become the next head of the Australian Secret Intelligence
Service.

Mr Watt's main task over the next five years will be to meet the government's goal
of finding $20 billion of savings from the defence budget in order to fund the new defence
white paper.

The new Secretary of the Department of Finance and Deregulation will be David Tune,
who has played a key role in crafting the government's economic strategy to ward off recession.

Long-serving departmental head Helen Williams will retire from the post of secretary
of the Department of Human Services and leave the public service, to be replaced by Finn
Pratt, the CEO of Centrelink.

Patricia Scott will move from the top job at the Department of Broadband, Communications
and the Digital Economy to become a full-time commissioner at the Productivity Commission.

She will be replaced by Peter Harris, secretary of the Victorian government's Department
of Sustainability and the Environment.

Andrew Metcalfe, secretary of the Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs since
2005, has been reappointed for a further five-year term and public service commissioner
Lynelle Briggs will become the new chief executive of Medicare Australia.

Ms Briggs's deputy, Carmel McGregor, will act as public service commissioner.

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