Movers & Shakers: Australia’s top Olympic mandarin
Queensland appointments for tourism, disaster recovery and hormones inquiry, cricket legend called to the crease, Corporates join IBA.
Senior Executive Service
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Angelia Grant is now deputy secretary at the Department of Treasury.
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David Higgins has been promoted to division head of the international climate and energy division at the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
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The Museum of Australian Democracy has named Lee Pluis deputy director.
The Australian Taxation Office’s next assistant people commissioner is Timothy Silvers.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has announced three assistant secretaries for policy and program management – Thomas Beamish, Shilpa Pullela and Ruth Hill.
Jacinta Kirkpatrick is now the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre’s (AUSTRAC) national manager of intelligence capabilities and international engagement.
Olympic committee CEO revealed
Mark Arbib has been appointed CEO of the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC).
Arbib is a former Labor sports minister and sports administrator. He has served on the AOC’s executive committee since 2016 and chairs the Brisbane ’32 legacy and impact committee.
He served as president of Athletics Australia from 2015 to 2021, where he drove governance reforms, developed high-performance strategies, and established an athlete’s voice on the board.
Arbib also led the 2012 governance review into Australian Rugby Union and has served on the board of both Sydney FC and the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
He previously worked as director of strategy and business development at Consolidated Press Holdings, established and managed the $100 million Packer Family Foundation, and was general secretary of the Australian Labor Party in NSW.
Arbib replaces Matt Carroll, who has stepped down after eight years.
Queensland appoints lead to hormone therapy inquiry
Queensland Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Tim Nicholls has appointed Ruth Vine independent lead reviewer to examine the state’s approach to gender affirming care.
Vine is a consultant psychiatrist who served as Australia’s first deputy chief medical officer for mental health. She previously worked for the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services, serving as deputy chief psychiatrist, chief psychiatrist, and director of mental health.
She has chaired the Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council, National Mental Health Standing Committee, National Mental Health Workforce Committee, and National Safety and Quality Committee. Vine is a member of the board of Forensicare, the board of Mind, and the Medical Practitioners Board (Victoria).
She holds a bachelor of medicine from Melbourne University, a bachelor of laws from La Trobe University, and is a fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists.
Western Queensland flood recovery coordinator
Stuart Mackenzie has been named state recovery coordinator to lead disaster recovery efforts in western Queensland.
Mackenzie is a farmer and former councillor, deputy mayor and mayor of Quilpie Shire.
He was previously chair of the Outback Queensland Tourism Association and founder of the non-profit charitable public company Outback Gondwana Foundation.
Queensland Police’s chief superintendent for emergency management and coordination commander Troy Pukallus will be deputy state recovery coordinator.
Pukallus brings more than 30 years of policing experience, including as the state coordinator for the rural and stock crime squad.
Double appointment for Resources Safety and Health Queensland
Ken Singer has been named Queensland’s interim commissioner for Resources Safety and Health (RSHQ).
Singer is a consultant with a historical focus on mine safety. He takes the role following a year-long vacancy at the top of RSHQ.
Singer will lead the organisation during a comprehensive review that will examine whether the organisation, the resources safety commissioner, and the supporting advisory committees are delivering the best safety outcomes for workers in the resources industry.
The review will start in June, led by Susan Johnston.
Johnston is the former chief executive of the Queensland Resources Council and the global and national Head of Safety of the former Anglo Coal. She has held various safety-related roles in other industries, including commissioner for patient safety on the Queensland Health Quality and Complaints Commission and member of the National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority Advisory Board.
Corporate experts join Indigenous Business Australia
Doug McTaggart and Brian Bero have joined Indigenous Business Australia’s board of directors.
McTaggart is an economist who has held prominent roles in the corporate, public and university sectors. He has served as CEO of the Queensland Investment Corporation and as a director at Suncorp Group, Spark Infrastructure, and the QIMR Berghofer Institute of Medical Research.
He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Chicago.
Bero is a Meriam man and co-founder and principal lawyer of Jaramer Legal, a national Indigenous owned commercial and corporate law firm. He has worked as a government lawyer as well as for large corporations and big law firms.
Bero is currently a director on the boards of Aboriginal Community Housing, Ilbijerri Theatre Company, and Original Power. He is also a member of the First Nations Clean Energy Network, an advisory member of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, and an advisory member of the First Nations trade unit at DFAT.
Cricket legend called to the crease
Former men’s cricket captain Steve Waugh has been appointed to the advisory board of the Centre for Australia-India Relations.
Waugh has significant connections to India through the cricket community. He recently published a photography book titled The Spirit of Cricket: India, and starred in the 2020 documentary Capturing Cricket: Steve Waugh in India.
He has undertaken charity and philanthropic work in Australia and India and has previously served as a tourism ambassador.
He replaces former teammate Adam Gilchrist, who has served at the centre since its establishment.
Chief executive of Adelaide Festival Centre announced
Dark Mofo co-founder Kate Gould has been appointed chief executive of the Adelaide Festival Centre.
Gould will finish her current role as CEO and artistic director of Brisbane Powerhouse in July, succeeding Douglas Gautier, who has held the role for 19 years.
The appointment will see her return to Adelaide, which she has remained strongly connected to and previously held the leadership role of CEO and associate artistic director of Adelaide Festival.
She also held multiple board positions, including chair of Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, director of Adelaide Football Club, and co-chair of the SA Premier’s Council for Women.
CEO to lead Tourism and Events Queensland
Craig Davidson has been appointed CEO of Tourism and Events Queensland.
Davidson has enjoyed a 35-year career in Australian tourism, working across hotels, resorts, attractions and nature-based experiences. This includes roles with Southern Pacific Hotel Corporation, Hamilton Island, Voyages Hotels and Resorts, Ardent Leisure theme parks, and Journey Beyond.
He led Tourism Australia’s investment attraction, aviation development, and industry development team, including Indigenous tourism products, and has held numerous board roles, including six years as a director at Destination Gold Coast.
He replaces Patricia O’Callaghan, who was appointed director-general of the Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation in November.
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