Department of the Treasury (Australia)
Encyclopedia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n Government
Government of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states...
department. Its role is to focus and develop economic policy.
History
The Commonwealth Treasury was established in Melbourne in January 1901.The department focused on developing taxation system, land and income tax and economic policies.
Structure
The department is divided into four groups, Fiscal, Macroeconomic, Revenue and Markets with support coming from the Corporate Services Division. These groups were established to meet four policy outcomes:- Effective government spending and taxation arrangements
The Treasury provides advice on budget policy issues, trends in Commonwealth revenue and major fiscal and financial aggregates, major expenditure programmes, taxation policy, retirement income, Commonwealth-State financial policy and actuarial services.
- Sound macroeconomic environment
The Treasury monitors and assesses economic conditions and prospects, both in Australia and overseas, and provides advice on the formulation and implementation of effective macroeconomic policy.
- Well functioning markets
The Treasury provides advice on policy processes and reforms that promote a secure financial system and sound corporate practices, remove impediments to competition in product and services markets and safeguard the public interest in matters such as consumer protection and foreign investment.
- Effective Taxation and retirement income arrangements
The Treasury provides advice and assists in the formulation and implementation of government taxation and retirement income policies and legislation as well as providing information on material changes to taxation revenue forecasts and projections.
Secretaries to the Treasury
The Secretary to the Treasury is the public service head of the department. Below is the list of Secretaries.| Name | Dates |
|---|---|
| George Allen | 1 January 1901 - 13 March 1916 (appointed retrospectively on 9 July 1901) |
| James Collins James Collins -Sports:*James Collins , Welsh footballer, currently playing for Aston Villa*James Collins , Irish footballer, currently playing for Shrewsbury Town*James Collins , NBA basketball player... |
14 March 1916 - 26 June 1926 |
| James Heathershaw | 3 August 1926 - 28 April 1932 |
| Sir Henry (Harry) Sheehan | 29 April 1932 - 28 February 1938 |
| Stuart McFarlane | 24 March 1938 - 29 January 1948 |
| George Watt George Watt George Watt may refer to:*George D. Watt , British religious leader*George Watt , British botanist & academic*George Watt , Australian player*George MacDonald Watt, Red Baron's 28th victory.... |
23 November 1948 - 31 March 1951 |
| Sir Roland Wilson | 1 April 1951 - 27 October 1966 |
| Sir Richard Randall | 28 October 1966 - 31 October 1971 |
| Sir Frederick Wheeler | 1 November 1971 - 5 January 1979 |
| John Stone John Stone (Australian politician) John Owen Stone is a former Australian politician. He served as Secretary to the Treasury between 1979 and 1984,and as a Senator for Queensland representing the National Party from 1987 to 1990.-Biography:John Stone was born in 1929... |
8 January 1979 - 14 September 1984 |
| Bernie Fraser | 19 September 1984 - 18 September 1989 |
| Chris Higgins | 19 September 1989 - 6 December 1990 |
| Tony Cole | 14 February 1991 - 23 March 1993 |
| Ted Evans | 24 May 1993 - 26 April 2001 |
| Ken Henry Ken Henry (Australian public servant) Dr. Kenneth Ross "Ken" Henry AC is an Australian economist and public servant. He served as the Secretary of the Department of the Treasury from 2001 to 2011. On 1 June 2011, he was appointed as Special Advisor to the Prime Minister... |
27 April 2001 - 4 March 2011 |
| Martin Parkinson Martin Parkinson Dr Martin Lee Parkinson PSM is the current Secretary of the Department of the Treasury of Australia effective March 2011. He had previously worked as the inaugural Secretary of the Department of Climate Change, Deputy Treasury Secretary, an International Monetary Fund official, and an advisor to... |
7 March 2011 - |
Treasury’s independence
Treasurer Wayne SwanWayne Swan
Wayne Maxwell Swan is the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and an Australian politician. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1993 to 1996, and then re elected in 1998 till today , representing the Division of Lilley, QLD...
has previously called Henry an independent economic regulator, similar to the governor of the Reserve Bank.
When asked after the 2009 Budget about Treasury’s independence, Henry replied:
See also
- Australian federal budget
- TreasurerTreasurer of AustraliaThe Treasurer of Australia is the minister in the Government of Australia responsible for government expenditure and revenue raising. He is the head of the Department of the Treasury. The Treasurer plays a key role in the economic policy of the government...
- List of Australian Commonwealth Government entities