Pat Weller

Interviewed by
Roger Scott & Danielle Miller
Dec 03 2010
Pat Weller
Academic Pat Weller discusses his involvement with Queensland politics from the late 1980s until 2009, particularly the period in which Labor returned to government after a 32 year absence, providing insight into the internal workings of the party, and on his involvement with the Corrective Services Commission.
Biography
Time Summary Keywords
00:00:08 Pat Weller discusses his involvement with government inquiries in the 1970s, and the nature of Queensland politics in the 1980s, including the extremes of the Bjelke-Petersen Government, the Fitzgerald Inquiry and the rise of a new, young Labor Party. Bjelke-Petersen Government 1968-87, corruption, Fitzgerald Inquiry, Police
00:04:07 Pat Weller outlines the establishment of the federally funded Centre for Australian Public Sector Management, its relationship with the state government, and the development of federal and Queensland cabinet handbooks. Ahern Government 1987-89, Cabinet
00:08:26 Pat Weller discusses the leadership changes in the National Party at the end of the 1980s in the context of the Fitzgerald Inquiry. He discusses the development of public sector policy, the distrubution of shadow portfolios, and the creation of the PSMC as the corollary of the CJC and EARC. Ahern Government 1987-89, Cooper Government 1989, corruption, Criminal Justice Commission, EARC, Fitzgerald Inquiry, Glyn Davis, Kevin Rudd, Mike Ahern, Public Sector Management Commission, Russell Cooper, Wayne Goss
00:13:02 Pat Weller recalls his involvement with the transition team that oversaw Labor's move into government after the 1989 election, including the creation of new public service departments and the management of cabinet business. 1989 election, Cabinet, Goss Government 1989-96, Keith De Lacy, Regional Development
00:20:23 Pat Weller discusses taking up the position of chair of the Corrective Services Commission in 1994, and the purpose and function of the Commission. Boggo Road Gaol, Borbidge Government 1996-98, Corrective Services Commission, Goss Government 1989-96, Paul Braddy, Russell Cooper
00:27:26 Pat Weller discusses his time with the CSC, focusing on the issues surrounding Indigenous people and prisons, the involvement of the CSC in planning new prisons, and the privatisation of prisons. Corrective Services Commission, Goss Government 1989-96, Indigenous issues, prisons, privatisation
00:32:14 Pat Weller discusses the initial decision to create the CSC following a series of incidents at Boggo Road Gaol, and the factors that led to its failure, including a lack of public interest. Boggo Road Gaol, Cooper Government 1989, Corrective Services Commission, deaths in custody, Goss Government 1989-96, prisons, privatisation, Russell Cooper
00:37:01 Pat Weller discusses his withdrawal from government posts during the Borbidge and Beattie governments and his return to head up a review of government boards, committees and statutory authorities in 2008. Bligh Government 2007-12
00:41:58 Interview ends.
Position:
Other
Decade:
1990s
Sound byte: 

Pat Weller

Biography

Pat Weller

Academic Patrick Weller played a major role in developing public sector policy and shaping the reform agenda of post-Bjelke-Petersen governments. 

Born in England in 1944, Patrick Weller completed a BA and MA at Oxford University before immigrating to Australia in 1966 and completing a PhD in politics at the Australian National University. In the years since, he has established a teaching and research career in the fields of politics, and has published widely on the topic. A founding member of Griffith University’s Centre for Australian Public Sector Management in 1988 (now the Centre for Governance and Public Policy), he has had strong links to the Queensland government for more than 30 years.

His contributions to governance in Queensland include the development of the state’s first Cabinet Handbook, as well as a strategy for the reform and modernisation of the public service in the post-Bjelke-Petersen era. He has also served on a number of government committees, most notably the Corrective Services Commission which he chaired from 1994-96. In 2002, Weller’s contribution to political science and good governance was recognised with his admission as an Officer in the Order of Australia.

Copyright © The Centre for the Government of Queensland, the University of Queensland, 2011.

The copyright holder of this material grants users permission to access the material on this website for the following purposes only: research and study, education, other non-commercial and non-public uses.

Associated interviews: 
Mike Ahern
Associated interviews: 
Russell Cooper
Associated interviews: 
Wayne Goss