With the new New South Wales government settling into office after their victory in the March elections, there has been a frenzy of major structural changes and prominent executive appointments.
The agenda for the new government thus far has included mergers of departments such as the Department of Planning and Infrastructure and the sacking of certain high-level directors perceived to be affiliated with the former administration.
In April, the O'Farrell cabinet made its first major restructuring decision, with the boundaries between the traditional divisions of the Transport department broken down. ''This is the first time in NSW where a transport authority will have a customer experience division solely dedicated to improving the day-to-day plight of commuters who currently are not receiving the services they should receive," said Gladys Berejiklian, the incoming Minister for Transport.
Departments such as the Roads and Traffic Authority will never be the same, with ultimate power handed over to the current director-general of Transport, Les Wielinga. All executive responsibility of these agencies has essentially been stripped, with heads of agencies forming a board and directly reporting to Mr. Wielinga.
In the same month, Treasury Secretary Michael Shur resigned from the position, with former Secretary Michael Lambert to act in a caretaker role.
More recently, the O’Farrell government managed to poach one of Australia’s third biggest Telco boss AAPT, Paul Broad, to run the restructured Infrastructure NSW. Joining Mr Broad will be the former Howard government adviser and chief of Sydney Airport, Max Moore-Wilton. The Chairman of the Board, Nick Greiner, commented that the recalibrated organisation would now contain the "highest-calibre board in Australia".
Just two days after the poaching, another major change came in the form of a shock sacking of four directors appointed by the previous government. The directors of the state-owned power companies Delta Electricity and Eraring Energy were sacked amidst accusations of pushing through Labor’s "midnight sale" of electricity assets last year. Future replacements for the four directors are still unknown.
Ongoing changes which have transitioned from the Labor government to the O’Farrell government include the major continual structural changes in the NSW Health Department. In its current state, the Health Department is in the stage of transitioning from Area Health Services to Local Health Networks, with the focus on expanding the reach of the current health system. The proposed Clinical Support Division units have been set up and are currently supporting the Local Health Networks.
Further changes to the NSW government are expected to continue, with Ms Skinner, Health Minister, commenting on the health system – "The NSW Government will deliver on its promise to open new beds to get this state back to where it should be."
For a limited time, A-ZGovBIZ is offering a 25% discount on our database of up-to-date contact information for thousands of decision-markers in New South Wales government departments. We can provide telemarketing, phone, fax and email data targeted to your needs. Contact us on 02 9516 4703 to arrange a quotation.
