Marney, Fong break mould

The two most influential public servants in Western Australia, newly appointed Under Treasurer Tim Marney and Acting Director General of Health Neale Fong, are both far removed from the traditional image of career bureaucrats.

Mr Fong rose to public prominence as a senior executive with St John of Gold Healthcare and as chairman of the WA Football Commission before being recruited last year to oversee far-reaching reform of the state’s health system.

He is regarded as one of the best networkers in Perth and was able to negotiate a salary package worth up to $538,000 for his government post, making him the highest paid public servant in WA by a long margin.

Mr Fong was initially recruited to run the reform program following the Reid review, but has since widened his brief to run the Health Department.

Mr Marney is a career public servant but his career has been remarkably short for someone who has already reached the top.

He is just 35 years of age and, with his trademark sideburns and white socks, readily admits that he doesn’t have the “look and feel” that people expect.

That didn’t stop him being named last week as the replacement for John Langoulant, who left the Treasury Department last year to become chief executive of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA.

Mr Marney takes what is often regarded as the most powerful position in the WA public sector, given Treasury’s central role in policy formulation and its scrutiny of significant policy proposals from across government.

Treasury has also acquired a much more significant operational role over the past four years, and is now the central purchasing agency for all government departments.

Mr Marney believes his distinctive and youthful style could be a boon for public service recruiters.

 “I look at that as a positive,” he said. “It might help to project a more progressive, positive image.”

Mr Marney, who will earn a salary package worth about $300,000, also goes on the front foot when asked about working in the public service.

“I’m extremely proud to say I’m a public servant.”

He said the main attraction was the challenging work and the intellectual stimulation.

“People don’t work at treasury because of the money.”

A graduate of Murdoch University, Mr Marney spent three years at the Reserve Bank in Sydney before Mr Langoulant lured him back to Perth.

Mr Marney has recruited some notable staff himself, none more so than Rita Saffioti, who subsequently left Treasury and is now Premier Geoff Gallop’s top economic adviser.

He doesn’t plan any major changes at treasury but would like to tweak its structure and shift the emphasis in some areas.

In particular, he is keen to beef up Treasury’s expertise in regard to public private partnerships, which have been used sparingly in WA, most recently in regard to the new court complex being built in the city.

He also wants to strengthen Treasury’s management of capital works, which has become a key issue given the big cost increases facing construction projects, in both the public and private sectors.

More generally, Mr Marney said there were two areas he was keen to emphasise as under treasurer.

“We need to build productive and effective relationships. Treasury can sometimes alienate people in the public sector and the private sector,” he said.

“And we need to use those relationships to provide effective solutions for government.”

Internally, he said Treasury was good at recruiting and training graduates and had good leadership and management programs for its top staff, but needed to do more staff development in the middle ranks.

Mr Marney was most recently one of three executive directors in the Treasury department, along with Colin Murphy and David Smith.

Each of the executive directors has acted as under treasurer since Mr Langoulant’s departure.

Apart from Messrs Marney and Fong, influential bureaucrats include Office of Energy chief executive Anne Nolan, who has been at the centre of the Gallop Government’s key energy reforms, and Fremantle Ports’ chief executive Kerry Sanderson. Mrs Sanderson was recently appointed a director of Austrade and until recently was a director of AWB Limited.

Paul Albert is director general of Education and Training, putting him in charge of the second biggest budget in the state after Health.

Police Commissioner Karl O’Callaghan fills one of the most sensitive and influential posts in the state.

The list of influential bureaucrats is completed by Economic Regulation Authority chairman Lyndon Rowe, who formerly ran the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Environmental Protection Authority chairman Wally Cox.

Both organisations won’t always get their way, but the autonomy they enjoy gives them an unusual degree of freedom to speak out on contentious issues, on topics as diverse as water pricing and power generation.

In a similar vein is Auditor General Des Pearson, who provides independent scrutiny of government activities across the state.

BUREAUCRATS

•           Tim Marney

            Under Treasurer.

•           Neale Fong

            Acting Director General, Health.

•           Anne Nolan

            Chief Executive, Office of Energy.

•           Kerry Sanderson

            Chief Executive, Fremantle Ports.

•           Paul Albert

            Director General, Education and Training.

•           Karl O’Callaghan

            Police Commissioner.

•           Lyndon Rowe

            Chairman, Economic Regulation Authority.

•           Wally Cox

            Chairman, Environmental Protection Authority.