From Wildlife to Defence and beyond: It’s an Honour

AUTHOR: Deborah Tarrant   DATE: 01.05.07   ISSUE 1, 2007

Dr Peter Shergold AC

Dr Peter Shergold AC took an unusual path to the top job in the Australian Public Service as Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Dr Shergold who received a Companion in the General Division for service to the community for the public sector, in particular, for his development and implementation of a whole-of-government approach to program delivery, is not a “career” public servant, but spent a large number of his working years as an academic.

Dr Peter Shergold AC said his new role as Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet is "thoroughly exciting, absorbing and interesting."

Photo: Dr Peter Shergold AC.

Not surprisingly, Dr Shergold also doesn’t fit the stereotype of the public servant. As he told the audience at a ‘Meet the CEO’ event at UNSW late last year he believes rather than fit a prescribed mould, it’s important for bureaucrats to be themselves. Consequently he is not afraid to “reveal ignorance or ask for advice”, and he believes in the importance of retaining a sense of humour.

With a Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honours) from the University of Hull, a Master of Arts in History from the University of Illinois and a PhD from the London School of Economics, Dr Shergold was appointed a lecturer in economic history at the University of New South Wales in 1972 and remained in academia until 1987.

His first public service role was heading the Office of Multicultural Affairs, and he would be appointed to eight more agencies delivering programs substantially in social services areas before taking on his current role in early 2003.

Key roles for Dr Shergold were as Public Service Commissioner from 1995 to 1998, where he played a leading role in promoting legislative and administrative reform in the Australian Public Service (APS). He has also headed the Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business and the Department of Education, Science and Training where he developed the Government’s reform strategy for higher education.

He continues an active interest in the management of the APS as chair of the Management Advisory Committee and through speaking extensively on public service issues. Dr Shergold evolved the concept of the SHAG (Stay Here and Grow) program to counter low morale and high staff turnover within the Public Service and put an emphasis on growing the ranks of tertiary-qualified public servants.
On top of this, his opinions have been persistently heard in the debate over the importance for government ministers to receive frank and fearless advice.

The major economic changes of the last 20 years have given way to a host of social policy and security issues that have delivered a strong relevance to Dr Shergold’s expertise in workplace relations, vocational education, welfare-to-work and indigenous affairs “I’ve been lucky in coming to head this department at a time when those issues have been very much at the forefront of the Government’s agenda,” Dr Shergold told The Canberra Times. His new learning in the role has been in the areas of international diplomacy, security, counter-terrorism and defence.

Australia’s most senior public servant Dr Peter Shergold puts in close to a 12-hour day, Monday to Friday, and uses the quiet time of Sunday mornings to clear his desk. His role is “thoroughly exciting, absorbing and interesting”, he says. When he’s not there, he may be cross-country skiing, bush gardening or reseaching family history – all of which, he insists, he pursues with an enthusiasm unmatched by skill.


Dr Ken Henry AC

The citation perhaps said it all. When Treasury Secretary Dr Ken Henry AC, the nation’s second most powerful public servant, received the Companion in the General Division of the 2007 honours list, it was for service to the development and implementation of economic and taxation policy and for community service to wildlife welfare.

As the citation suggests, Dr Henry is a man of many interests who has not only played a significant role in shaping Australia’s economic future, but who also has rescued hundreds of native animals on two properties he owns 60km from Canberra. He is a member of a volunteer organisation that cares for injured and orphaned animals.

In fact, when pressed to make a choice between his high-level career and wildlife rescue, the animals may have the edge, he says.

A Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) graduate from the University of NSW in 1980, Dr Henry completed his PhD at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1982, before returning to Australia to take up a role in the Treasury Taxation Policy Division where he contributed to the development of the Government’s tax reform package in the mid-‘80s.

“People have an inclination to blame free markets when they see something inequitable happening but more often that not it’s poor government policy,” said Dr Ken Henry AC.

Photo: Dr Ken Henry AC.

Dr Henry also spent five years working as a senior adviser to the Treasurer on a range of issues including taxation, retirement incomes policy and microeconomic reform, before returning to Treasury to become an influential figure heading the Government’s Taxation Task Force and as Executive Director of Treasury’s Economic Group where he had responsibility for macroeconomic policy advice, domestic economic forecasting and advising on international economic issues.

Appointed as Secretary of the Treasury in 2001, he has been outspoken on a wide-range of issues including his belief that governments have responsibilities over the assets of the people that they represent, in particular the general quality of the environment, timber stocks, fish stocks and quality of the air. He has highlighted the need to create national markets for water and energy, and to address Indigenous disadvantage.

“People have an inclination to blame free markets when they see something inequitable happening but more often that not it’s poor government policy,” says Dr Henry, an admirer of Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen who proposes that people should be able to choose lives they have reason to value.

Well-trained economists recognise that there’s a flaw in the argument that says development can only come at a price, Dr Henry says. Policy makers need to find ways to secure economic development “without trashing what we already have”.


Guido Belgiorno-Nettis AM

Guido Belgiorno-Nettis AM, is the managing director of Transfield Holdings.

He received his honour in part for services to the construction industry, particularly through the management of major infrastructure projects. He has done this through his years with Transfield, the company originally started by his father Franco in the 1950s that once was the Southern Hemisphere’s largest engineering and construction company, responsible for landmark projects such as the Sydney Harbour Tunnel and the $2.2 billion Melbourne City Link project.

Guido Belgiorno-Nettis AM has steered Transfield Holdings in a new direction: as a listed investment and development group.

Photo: Guido Belgiorno-Nettis AM.

More recently, Guido has transformed Transfield into a listed investment and development group, a business better suited the times, which he has been steering in fresh directions.

The second part of his Order of Australia citation was for service to the arts through executive and philanthropic roles. Significantly, Guido has been involved in the reconstruction of two of Australia’s major arts organisations, the Biennale of Sydney, and the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO). He chaired both organisations simultaneously for a number of years in the late ‘90s – restructuring and rebuilding stakeholder relationships and, perhaps, most importantly, building their management teams.

Team-building is an area in which Guido, an MBA graduate of AGSM’s class of 1985, displays an enduring strength. He attributes much of his professional achievement to his MBA learning, insisting he could not have risen to the same capacity in general management without it. At the same time, he says: “Receiving the honour is as much about the teams I have put together over the years and the way they have worked to help me, as it is about my abilities. You don’t do anything on your own.”

Heading the project development side of Transfield for a decade, Guido was responsible for many innovations and bringing together trailblazing teams. He oversaw a part of the business that underwent great growth and until the late ‘90s was the market leader as a developer of infrastructure under the build/own/operate/transfer scheme, constructing the projects and packaging the financial side, sometimes part-owning the operation.

Engineering companies had become increasingly dependant on their ability to deliver complex financial transactions, says Guido. When he became managing director, he re-engineered the business by selling off the construction company and rebuilding other areas, resulting in “a bigger balance sheet, more cash in the bank and a clear strategic direction”.

Since that time he has been steering Transfield into new growth areas, most recently in the university student accommodation business. The company currently has approximately 28,000 beds under management and ownership in Australia, with a further 20,000 beds in the United States. Transfield has invested significantly, more than $150 million plus equity to further grow its student accommodation business and has invited superannuation fund investors to participate in raising a pool of capital to further expand this part of the business.

There are some distinct parallels between major infrastructure projects and the student accommodation business, insists Guido, to some extent in the governance structures and that “you are operating on someone else’s land, also in the terms of acceptance and the way the relationship is documented in the contract – and that you hand over the asset at the end of the contract”.

On the arts front, Guido handed over the Chairman’s role of the Biennale of Sydney to his brother, Luca, but continues to lead the board of the ACO. In 2007 he also accepted a position on the board of the Art Gallery of NSW.


Emeritus Professor Dennis Turner OAM

Emeritus Professor Dennis Turner OAM was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his service to management education and to the community through contributions to economic research and charitable organizations.

Professor Turner, a leading expert on managing people and the effective management of corporate change, joined the academic staff of the University of NSW in 1981. Initially he was an Industrial Fellow and Visiting Professor at AGSM before becoming Professor of Management.

Emeritus Professor Dennis Turner OAM is writing a book on managing people, in which he draws on his 30 years corporate experience.

Photo: Emeritus Professor Dennis Turner OAM.

Twenty years of senior management experience prior to joining AGSM made him aware of the importance of both personal and corporate capabilities and the distinctions between the two. Research in his book, Change Power: Capabilities that Drive Corporate Renewal showed that managing change and managing a business require different capabilities, a trailblazing concept in the mid-80s which has now become well-established in contemporary management thinking.

Most recently, he has been creating and managing executive programs at AGSM, and writing a book on managing people on which he will draw on his 30 years corporate experience, and 22 years “surrounded by creative and talented colleagues” at AGSM.


Jocelyn Murphy AM

Jocelyn Murphy AM, Chief Executive Officer of the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) in NSW and Toowoomba insists she was “blown away” by being recognised on this year’s honours list but believes her honour belongs to the organisation as a whole, in particular the selfless contribution of its volunteers.

It was in a volunteer capacity that Mrs Murphy first joined the YWCA in Canada 30 years ago. Since that time she has been constantly involved in creating new programs for disadvantaged children, young people and families both in Australia and internationally.
She currently is Director of Corporate Partnerships for the World YWCA.

The YWCA has grown and managed to realise its programs in the community due substantially to the time and effort of its volunteers, both past and present, according to Mrs Murphy.

For over 30 years Jocelyn Murphy AM has been involved in creating new programs for disadvantaged children, young people and families.

Photo: Jocelyn Murphy AM.

Under her leadership, YWCA NSW is continuously socially responsive, developing local programs including an abuse prevention program in regional schools, specialist programs for homeless young people, refuge and supported housing for young women and children and working with indigenous groups on reconciliation and program delivery. She has also overseen the Y It Takes a Village program concept, a new model of service spanning from birth to early adulthood.

YWCA NSW also owns and operates two hotels, a 250-bed hotel in central Sydney with a conference centre, and a 65-room hotel in City South and provides community housing services in Sydney and Toowoomba.

In 1978, Mrs Murphy brought the Big Sister/Big Brother Program concept to Australia. A youth mentoring program, it matches adult volunteers with young people between the ages of seven and 17 who need a positive role model and friend in their lives. A Big Sister herself while involved with the YWCA in Canada, Mrs Murphy saw first hand how the program powerfully impacted on young lives.

Mrs Murphy who undertook an Executive Development Program for Managers at AGSM in 1998 was made a member of the Order of Australia not only for her contribution to the YWCA but also for her input to a range of other youth, charitable, health, human rights and sports organisations. She currently serves on the boards of Outward Bound Australia, The Duke of Edinburgh NSW program and the national board of Big Brothers Big Sisters Australia.


Commodore Geoffrey Ledger AM

Commodore Geoffrey Ledger AM of the Royal Australian Navy who received an Australia Medal in 2006 was also honoured with a Distinguished Service Cross in 2007 for meritorious service in his distinguished command and leadership in action in Middle East Area of Operations as Commander Joint Taskforce 633 during Operations Catalyst and Slipper.

Commodore Ledger who took up the position on a six monthly rotation in May 2005 commanded the Baghdad-based joint task force in a highly uncertain, dynamic and dangerous operational environment.

This task force was part of Australia’s Whole of Government effort to support the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Iraq.

While this presented one of his greatest challenges, Commodore Ledger’s career has presented him with highly challenging and dangerous situations in the past.

He received a Silver Commendation Medal from the Singapore Government and made headlines when he put his flying skills to the test leading a rescue operation to save 14 people during the Sentosa Cable Car disaster in the early-1980s.

At the time he was serving with the Republic of Singapore Air Force instructing basic and advanced students on Iroquois and Squirrel helicopters.

Commodore Geoffrey Ledger AM recently completed a Bachelor of Aviation by distance education.

Photo: Commodore Geoffrey Ledger.

In his distinguished career in the navy, he has spent considerable time in the air. He joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1972. After completing an RAAF pilots’ course and helicopter conversion training, he was posted to HMAS Albatross.

Subsequently he would be involved in operational flying training in Wessex helicopters and was involved in the clean-up operation after Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin.

In 1978 he joined the United Nations Emergency Force based in Ismalia, Egypt, where he flew in support of peacekeeping forces on the ground.

Commodore Ledger completed an Executive Development Program for Managers with AGSM in 1992 and subsequently returned to Canberra and the roles of Deputy Director Naval Programs and Deputy Commandant at the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADF).

At the ADF he has served as the Director of Personnel Policy, Director of the Aviation Capability Improvement team working for the Chief of Air Force and took over as Commander Australian Naval Aviation Group in 2002.

Commodore Ledger has combined “action” roles in the field with senior administrative and managerial positions.

He has been the Chief Pilot Examiner responsible for the standardisation of all RAN helicopter pilots and instructors, worked in the Navy Office’s Directorate of Officers Postings and the executive officer and training commander at the RAN Naval College HMAS Creswell.

Following his command of Task Force 633 in Iraq, Commodore Ledger, a father of three and a keen golfer and recreational tennis player, has returned to Canberra and a new posting as Chief of Staff to the Inspector General ADF. He is maintaining his flying currency on rotary wing aircraft as well as having recently completed a Bachelor of Aviation by distance education.


Roger Barrington Wickes

Roger Barrington Wickes who was honoured for outstanding public service, particularly for his contribution in the field of natural resource management, recently retired as Executive Director of National Resources Management within the Department of Land and Biodiversity Conservation in South Australia.

Wickes dedicated his working life to improving the value of natural resources and the environment, in particular, in soil conservation, pest plant and feral animal control. He was also involved in water resource management at the national, state and local levels.

Roger Barrington Wickes has dedicated his working life to soil conservation as well as pest plant and feral animal control.

Photo: Roger Barrington Wickes.

While today there is widespread community and landholder engagement and direct involvement in the management of land, water and biodiversity, Roger Wickes is recognised as a pioneer for promoting policy and institutional reform in these fields as they have rapidly grown in the public consciousness over the past 30 years.

Wickes, completed an Executive Development Program for Managers at AGSM in 1985, while working in South Australia through this time of fast-moving change and became an influential figure, both on legislative and cultural issues. An outstanding contribution was his major role in writing and preparing the national policy, Managing Natural Resources in Rural Australia for Sustainable Future, which has become the national blueprint for the delivery of the National Heritage Trust and National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality.

Roger Wickes career began in the Department of Agriculture as a Dairy Research Officer as an agricultural science graduate from the University of Adelaide in 1970. A “temporary” move in 1980 to carry out a review of “ruminant research” set his career on a new trajectory in the Department of Primary Industry where he moved from Principal Officer Research Management to Chief Projects Officer, Policy and Planning to become Chief of Soil and Water and the State Soil Conservator.

In 1994, he became a director of Primary Industry SA with his appointment as General Manager and subsequently, Director, Sustainable Resources. In the late 90s he moved his sustainable resources group into the Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation in South Australia.

Along the way he also participated in many natural resource management bodies including chairing the Upper South East Dryland Salinity and Flood Management Program Board and, nationally, as a member of the Australian Landcare Council.

In retirement, Mr Wickes has moved to a river frontage near Murray Bridge in South Australia, a location that allows him to keep a close eye on the levels of the natural resource he has dedicated much of his professional life conserving.


Paul Jevtovic

Assistant Commissioner with the Australian Federal Police, Paul Jevtovic received the Australian Police Medal for distinguished service in the area of international co-operation. The award recognised in particular his establishment of effective procedures for Australian Federal Police Deployments. Federal Agent Jevtovic completed an Executive General Manager Program at AGSM in 2004.

Federal Agent Jevtovic was made National Manager of the International Deployment Group (IDG) following its formation in February 2004.

The IDG was established to strengthen Australia’s ability to fight terrorism and transnational organized crime by providing regional capacity-building missions to assist local agencies to maintain stability in regional troublespots including the Solomon Islands, Cyprus, Timor-Leste, Jordan, Nauru and Tonga.


Linda Nicholls

A former AGSM Advisory Council member Linda Nicholls also became an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for her service to Australian business, particularly in the areas of governance and corporate social responsibility, as a mentor to women in the sector to education and to the community through major contributions to health and cultural organisation.