Public servant Ann Scott talks about her work in the Women's Policy Unit, the Public Sector Management Commission and the Queensland Police Service during the 1990s. She contrasts the outgoing Bjelke-Petersen Government with the incoming Goss Government, and discusses the reform agenda, the Fitzgerald Inquiry, and Criminal Justice Commission.
Public servant and academic Brian Head reflects on a public sector career that spanned 13 years and three governments during the 1990s and early 2000s. He focuses on his time in the Premier's Department and in the Public Sector Management Commission, reflecting on the upheaval experienced by the public service during the early Goss Government, and then again during the Borbidge and Beattie governments.
Public servant Clyde Gilmour was a long serving Director General of Education (1976-83) during the Bjelke-Petersen era and during this time was involved in the restructuring of technical training in Queensland.
Public servant David Williams was CEO of the government-owned Queensland Events Corporation and at other times Director General of departments responsible for tourism, sport, racing, gaming, liquor licensing and fair trading from 1989 to the early 2000s. Here he reflects on the development of Queensland’s events and tourism industries under different governments and during a period of increasing government marketing and corporatisation.
Long time public servant Erik Finger reflects on a career which began as an engineer in the Main Roads Department in 1961, and ended as the Head of the Premier's Department in 1994. He focuses particularly on the 1989 transition from long-term conservative government to new, reformist Labor government, and the changes wrought to the public service.
Public servant Frank Peach reflects on his diverse career as Director General of several departments including Education, Corrective Services and Families. He comments on the role of government and the public service in developing and implementing policy, highlighting the frustrations incurred due to a persistent tension between limited resources and increasing demand for social services.
Public servant Gerard Bradley was appointed Under Treasurer in 1995-96, in the final year of the Goss Government. He was reappointed as head of Treasury in 1998 after the Beattie Government won office. He oversaw government corporatisation processes and a budgetary reform agenda during a period of high growth and economic diversification in Queensland.
Former Police Commissioner Jim O'Sullivan reflects on a career in the Queensland Police Service which stretched from the 1950s to the early 2000s, and saw him rise from the lowest rank in the service to the highest. He focuses on his involvement with the Fitzgerald Inquiry, and the ongoing challenge of keeping the police service and political system free from corruption.
Public servant Jim Varghese was the Director General of Main Roads, Employment and Training, Education and Primary Industries and Fisheries and was involved in developing and implementing policy reforms during the Borbidge, Goss and Beattie eras. He discusses several key policy reforms in each of these portfolios and outlines some of his strategies for change management.
Public servant John Sosso served in the Queensland departments of Consumer Affairs, Justice and Emergency Services and was Deputy Director General in the Premier’s Department until removed in 1998 by the incoming Beattie government. He reflects on his involvement in the Fitzgerald Inquiry, public sector reform and the ‘hit list’ controversy. He discusses his experiences with the Goss and Borbidge governments, including his participation in censorship reform and the PSMC.
John Strano was a senior member of the Queensland public service with a firm belief in the community benefits from private investment. He was a leading figure in attracting private capital to the state during the Beattie Government era.
Ken Smith worked in the Queensland public service over the twenty-year period of intense professionalisation – starting in the Goss years, dismissed in the Borbidge years, and returning to serve Beattie and Bligh. His key contributions have been in delivering better family services and stimulating different policy perspectives in education.
Public servant Leigh Tabrett discusses her career working in the Department of Education and then Arts Queensland during the 1990s and 2000s. She focuses on the reform of the state's education system, particularly higher education, as well as the re-invigoration of the Brisbane cultural precinct and the importance of arts and culture to the community.
Public servant Leo Hielscher reflect on his long career in the Treasury Department and in the Queensland Treasury Corporation, serving fifteen different treasurers.
Public servant Linda Apelt was Director General of the Department of Housing (1998-2004), Disability Services Queensland (2004-09) and Department of Communities (2009-12) one of the Bligh Government’s ‘Super Departments’. In this interview she describes the changing relationships between the public service and ministers, and the role of director general.
Public servant Mal Grierson served as Director General of Public Works from the Goss Government through to 2011 and throughout his career played a significant role in the development of the Information and Communications Technology sector in Queensland.
Public servant Paul Fennelly was Queensland's Coordinator General (2002-05) and Director General of the Department of State Development (2002-06) during the Beattie Government period. In this time he helped implement elements of the government's Smart State strategy and oversaw several major projects of economic significance.
Public servant Peter Coaldrake served as the chair of the Goss Government's Public Sector Management Commission. He played a significant role in the reform of the culture and structures of the Queensland public service.
Public servant Peter Ellis was a geologist working with the Environment, Industry and Mining Departments, before being appointed Director General of the Department of Premier and Cabinet and Coordinator General under the Borbidge Government 1996-98.
Peter Henneken discusses his experience of working in the Queensland public service from the Bjelke-Petersen era to the Beattie era. He comments on the industrial relations and training policy and explores the approaches of various government to managing the public service.
Public servant Rachel Hunter discusses her career as the Public Service Commissioner from the early 2000s, and ending as the Director General of the Department of Justice and Attorney General in 2010. She focuses on the importance of education and links to the Beattie Government's Smart State initiative.
Public servant Rob Stable was Director General of Health 1996-2004 in the Queensland public service following a career as a doctor and hospital manager. He worked with health ministers Peter Beattie, Rob Borbidge, Mike Horan and Wendy Edmond.
Public servant Robin Sullivan discusses her career including her work as the Director General of the Department of Child Safety. She reflects on her time as the Children and Young People's Commissioner and discusses her experiences of gender inequality as well as her professional commitment to social justice.
As Director General of Education in the Goss Government 1990-94, public servant Roger Scott comments on the relationship between the Education Department and tertiary education institutes including TAFE. He reflects on the merging of tertiary institutions.
Ross Rolfe was Director General of three Queensland departments, Environment and Heritage 1996, 1998, State Development 1998-2002, and Premier and Cabinet 2005-07, working on state infrastructure and with Premier Peter Beattie on many of the Smart State initiatives, the water policy and the Cyclone Larry recovery plan.
Ruth Matchett was Director General of the Queensland Department of Family Services and Aboriginal and Islander Affairs 1990-95, during a time of unprecedented legislative change in that policy area, including child protection, domestic violence, disability services, ageing and land rights.
Queensland public servant Scott Prasser discusses the Smart State strategy of the Beattie Government and the changing nature of the Queensland public service.
Public servant Terry Hogan worked in both the Commonwealth and Queensland public sectors for over 20 years, ending as Director General of Queensland’s Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy. While he held this role the Department undertook significant and contested policy reforms in the areas of Native Title negotiation, land clearing and water resource management.
