Movers & Shakers: Bumper states edition
Cabinet reshuffles in Western Australia and NSW, Tasmanian ferries get new CEO, Victoria appoints lead for landslide inquiry.
Senior Executive Service
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Hayley Busuttil has been promoted to assistant commissioner for client engagement at the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
NSW Privacy commissioner appointed
Sonia Minutillo has been appointed NSW Privacy Commissioner, having been acting in the role since August 2023.
She is the former director of investigation and reporting at the commission, leading reviews, complaints, investigations, and the proactive compliance program.
Minutillo has worked in other senior roles in the NSW government and the non-profit sectors in the fields of industrial relations and employment rights and obligations under NSW and Commonwealth legislation.
She holds a bachelor of commerce from the University of Wollongong and an executive master’s in public administration from Sydney University.
NSW Parliament clerk to retire after 35 years
Clerk of the NSW Parliaments and Legislative Council David Blunt will retire at the end of the month after 35 years of service.
Blunt joined the NSW parliamentary departments in 1990 and has been clerk since 2011. Prior to becoming clerk, he served as deputy clerk, usher of the black rod and director of procedure.
Blunt recently co-edited the book Parliamentary Democracy at Work: Essays on the NSW Legislative Council.
In 2023, he was appointed a member of the Order of Australia in recognition of his service to the Parliament of NSW.
Deputy clerk Steven Reynolds has been promoted to clerk.
Reynolds’ career follows a parallel path to Blunt’s. Since joining the Parliament in 1999, he has been clerk assistant for committees and Usher of the Black Rod. He has been deputy clerk since 2011.
NSW cabinet reshuffle
The NSW has been reshuffled following a gap left by the resignation of Jo Haylen.
Haylen’s transport ministry will go to John Graham, who will remain special minister of state, minister for the arts, and minister for music and the night-time economy.
Janelle Saffin will join the NSW cabinet as minister for recovery, small business, and the north coast.
Jenny Aitchison will become the minister for roads and the minister for regional transport. Regional roads will now be absorbed into the Roads portfolio.
Steve Kamper will be sworn in as the minister for jobs and tourism, in addition to his responsibilities as the minister for lands and property, the minister for multiculturalism and the minister for sport.
Graham will continue to lead the government’s response to the toll review.
Western Australian government parts ways with chief bureaucrat
Western Department of the Premier and Cabinet Director-General Emily Roper’s last day on the job is today.
Roper intended to finish at the end of her current contract in December 2026. She departs early by mutual agreement with the government to avoid disruption from a mid-term change of leadership.
Roper commenced in the role of director-general in May 2021, having previously served as deputy director-general and acting in the role for nearly a year.
She has held various leadership positions in both state and Australian governments, with experience spanning 25 years across a range of areas, including national security, intelligence, and reform.
Roper recently co-chaired the Family and Domestic Violence Taskforce, established by the WA government to identify reforms to strengthen responses to FDV in Western Australia, and is an ex-officio member of the Infrastructure WA board.
In 2023, she was awarded a Public Service Medal for outstanding public service through leadership and management in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Richard Sellers will act in the role while the public service commission looks for a new secretary.
WA cabinet reshuffle
Western Australia has undergone a cabinet reshuffle following the retirement of three senior ministers before the last election.
Western Australia’s post-election cabinet reshuffle does not explicitly nominate ministers or parliamentary secretaries for the public sector.
The Mandarin confirmed with the Department of Premier and Cabinet that Premier Roger Cook will retain the role supported by parliamentary secretaries Divina D’Anna and David Scaife.
David Michael will take on a new public sector leadership role as the minister for finance and electoral affairs. Tony Buti will take on the attorney-general portfolio.
Meredith Hammat, Jessica Stojkovski, and Matthew Swinbourn join the cabinet as ministers for health and mental health, child protection, and the prevention of family and domestic violence; assisting the minister for transport and the environment; and community services and homelessness, respectively.
The reshuffle follows the announcement of Emily Roper’s departure as Premier and Cabinet director-general.
| Name | Position |
| Roger Cook | Premier; minister for state development, trade, and investment; economic diversification |
| Rita Saffioti | Deputy premier; treasurer; Transport; sport and recreation |
| Stephen Dawson | Minister for regional development and ports; science, innovation and medical research; Kimberley |
| Jackie Jarvis | Minister for agriculture, food, fisheries, and forests; small business; mid-west |
| Paul Papalia | Minister for emergency services; corrective services; defence industries; veterans; racing and gaming |
| Dr Tony Buti | Attorney-general; minister for commerce; tertiary and international education; multicultural interests |
| Simone McGurk | Minister for creative industries; heritage; industrial relations; aged care and seniors; women |
| Amber-Jade Sanderson | Minister for energy and decarbonisation; manufacturing; skills and TAFE; Pilbara |
| John Carey | Minister for planning and lands; housing and works; health infrastructure |
| Don Punch | Minister for Aboriginal affairs; water; climate resilience; south-west |
| Reece Whitby | Minister for police; road safety; tourism; Great Southern |
| Sabine Winton | Minister for education; early childhood; preventative health; wheatbelt |
| David Michael | Minister for mines and petroleum; finance; electoral affairs; Goldfields-Esperance; leader of the house |
| Hannah Beazley | Minister for local government; disability services; volunteering; youth; Gascoyne |
| Jessica Stojkovski | Minister for child protection; prevention of family and domestic violence; assisting the minister for transport; Peel |
| Matthew Swinbourn | Minister for the environment; community services; homelessness |
| Meredith Hammat | Minister for health; mental health |
| Parliamentary secretaries | |
| Daniel Pastorelli | Parliamentary secretary to the premier; cabinet secretary |
| Divina D’Anna | Parliamentary secretary to the premier |
| David Scaife | Parliamentary secretary to the premier |
| Samantha Rowe | Parliamentary secretary to the deputy premier |
| Yaz Mubarakai | Parliamentary secretary to Minister Tony Buti |
| Pierre Yang | Parliamentary secretary to Minister Meredith Hammat |
| Jodie Hanns | Parliamentary secretary to Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson |
| Cassie Rowe | Parliamentary secretary to Minister Simone McGurk |
| Emily Hamilton | Parliamentary secretary to Minister Sabine Winton |
| Lisa O’Malley | Parliamentary secretary to Minister Stephen Dawson |
| Caitlin Collins | Parliamentary secretary to Minister Paul Papalia |
| Dan Caddy | Parliamentary secretary to Minister Dr Tony Buti |
| Katrina Stratton | Parliamentary secretary to Minister John Carey |
| Kim Giddens | Parliamentary secretary to Minister Matthew Swinbourn |
Veterans representative to the NSW ANZAC memorial
Ray James has been welcomed as the veterans representative to the NSW ANZAC Memorial Trust.
The son of a WWII veteran, James joined the navy at 15 and completed 20 years full-time and war-like active service. This included tours of Vietnam and 26 years in the Royal Australian Navy Reserve before retiring at the rank of chief petty officer.
As a civilian, James served for more than 20 years in the NSW Transport Investigation Branch and the NSW Police Force.
He has been a member of the RSL NSW since October 1975 and active since the late 1990s.
He was awarded Life Membership of the League in 2016 and awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in 2024 and an Order of Australia Medal in 2020.
Chair appointed to Mornington Peninsula landslide inquiry
Victorian Minister for Local Government Nick Staikos has announced Renée Enbom will lead an inquiry into the cause of the landslide that occurred in McCrae in the Mornington Peninsula Shire.
Enbom is a senior counsel who has appeared in the Victorian Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants and the Yoorrook Justice Commission, as well as several recent Commonwealth royal commissions.
The board of inquiry will investigate the cause of the landslide, what happened, and the adequacy of preventative measures taken to mitigate the risks following other landslides in McCrae.
The final report is due by June 18.
Retired colonel leads Queensland disaster recovery efforts
The Queensland government has appointed Justin O’Connor state recovery coordinator to lead recovery efforts from ex-tropical cyclone Alfred.
O’Connor is a retired army colonel and former Queensland Hotel Association (QHA) CEO.
He has been part of a number of state government panels and taskforces looking at reform to the state’s hospitality industry. These include QHA’s 2007 safety taskforce and the Queensland government’s 2012 “expert panel to address the overload of red tape strangling the liquor and gaming industry.”
Former Brisbane city councillor Peter Matic will serve as deputy. The two will work with Queensland Reconstruction Authority CEO Jake Ellwood to identify communities’ needs and assist in the development of recovery programs.
Besieged Tasmanian ferry line gets new CEO
Tasmanian Minister for Transport Eric Abetz has appointed Chris Carbone CEO of Spirit of Tasmania operator TT-Line.
Carbone is the president of logistics company Toll’s resources and industrial division. He previously worked in senior finance and operations roles for Toll, Coles, Devondale, and Linfox.
Carbone will replace acting CEO Kim Sayers on May 12.
Tasmanian EPA CEO
Catherine Murdoch will be the next CEO of the Tasmanian Environment Protection Authority.
A recipient of the 2020 Telstra Tasmanian Business Women’s Award, Murdoch is known for her strong communication skills and ability to build positive workplace cultures and provide leadership and strategic direction to large and complex organisations.
Murdoch holds a bachelor of applied science in coastal management from Southern Cross University. She has extensive experience as a certified lead environmental auditor and environmental practitioner.
She will start her five-year term on April 7. Cindy Ong will act in the role until then.
New role at Screen Australia
Screen Australia has announced Michele McDonald will fill the newly created role of POCU adviser (producer offset and co-production).
The producer offset is a tax offset for Australian films. The co-production program extends this to films partly made by producers from eligible partner countries.
As POCU senior manager for eight years, McDonald is experienced in Screen Australia’s administration of the POCU programs and has observed the value of these essential programs to industry over the years.
NBN Co board
Chum Darvall and Jules Scarlett have been appointed as non-executive directors of the NBN Co board for three years.
Darvall has extensive chair and non-executive director experience across ASX-listed and private companies, government entities, and not-for-profit organisations. He joins the board with significant finance and banking experience including at Deutsche Bank and Westpac.
Scarlett has spent more than 24 years of experience at Telstra, where she was most recently the chief sustainability officer. She is currently the chair and commissioner of Tasmania Legal Aid and served for 10 years on the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Board.
Pam Bains has been reappointed as a non-executive director for two years.
Independent reviewer for export grants regime
Timothy Yeend has been appointed to conduct the next independent review of the Export Market Development Grants Act 1997.
Yeend is a trade expert with more than 30 years’ experience working on trade and international business issues. He is a current board member of Tourism Australia and former associate secretary at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Until early 2021, Yeend was principal adviser and chief of staff to the current and former director-generals at the World Trade Organisation. He has also served as Australian ambassador to the WTO and other international economic organisations in Geneva.
Consultations will commence in May, with the final report to be provided to the government by November.
Romeo becomes British Home Office permanent secretary
Dame Antonia Romeo has been appointed permanent secretary at the British Home Office.
Romeo is currently permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice and will replace Sir Matthew Rycroft, who is leaving the civil service at the end of March. Prior to this, Romeo was permanent secretary of the Department for International Trade for four years.
She joined the civil service in 2000 as a professional economist after an early career in the private sector at Oliver Wyman, a strategic consultancy firm.
Romeo sits on the civil service board and senior leadership committee, is the civil service gender champion, and is president of the Whitehall Choir.
Romeo holds a master’s in politics, philosophy and economics from Oxford University and a master of science (Economics) from the London School of Economics.
