Monday, April 15, 2024

The Mandarin and Crikey’s ‘revolving door’ list: How power bleeds between politics and the Big Four



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The Mandarin and Crikey’s ‘revolving door’ list: How power bleeds between politics and the Big Four


The Mandarin and Crikey’s ‘revolving door’ list: How power bleeds between politics and the Big Four

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April 15, 2024
Keep track of the major players moving between politics, the public service and the major consultancies with our rolling list. (Zennie/Private Media) 

Voters in Cook have selected McKinsey & Company alumnus Simon Kennedy as their new representative in Canberra. But the ex-consultant will be far from the only MP with that line on his CV: Kennedy’s Coalition colleagues Greg Hunt and Angus Taylor, and Labor’s Clare O’Neil, also worked for the firm earlier in their careers. Crikey understands Taylor was an important backer of Kennedy’s candidacy.

In light of Kennedy’s election, The Mandarin and Crikey thought it was time to revisit our list of politicians and senior public servants who have made the switch from public employment to working for consultancies, and vice versa.

The list was originally published in July last year, as the PwC tax leak scandal was the talk of Canberra. The scandal renewed focus on the close links between politicians, public servants and consultancy firms, which sometimes takes the form of a “revolving door”.

The think tank Centre for Public Integrity has warned this practice raises concerns about conflicts of interest. Other experts have said the revolving door can blur lines between the public and private sectors. Over the past decade, the annual value of government contracts awarded to the big four firms — KPMG, PwC, EY and Deloitte – has increased from $282 million to $1.4 billion.

On the other hand, there is no evidence that the type of behaviour suspected at PwC represents a widespread failure to manage conflicts of interest. There is no suggestion the people mentioned in this article have been accused of wrongdoing.

Given the work associated with consultancies like the Big Four — which includes auditing, tax services and organisational management — often requires similar skills to those of public servants and politicians, the occasional career overlap is perhaps not surprising. However, the profit incentives that drive private consultancies are not always compatible with the obligations of government officials and MPs to act in the public interest.

For simplicity’s sake the list below focuses on the Big Four consultancies only.

Politicians who became consultants

Consultants who became politicians

Consultants who became senior public servants 

  • Megan Brownlow, deputy chair and chair of the Audit & Risk Committee for Screen Australia, worked for PwC
  • Blair Comley, secretary at the federal Department of Health and Aged Care, worked for EY, and was previously secretary at the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet
  • Michael De’Ath, director-general of the Queensland Department of Education since 2021, worked for KPMG
  • Teresa Dyson, acting chair of the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation since 2023, worked for Deloitte
  • Rosheen Garnon, chair of the Tax Practitioners Board since 2020, worked for KPMG
  • Jeremy Hirschhorn, second commissioner for client engagement at the ATO after joining in 2014, worked for KPMG
  • Cindy Hook, chief executive for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Organising Committee since 2023, worked for Deloitte
  • Natalie James, Department of Employment and Workplace Relations secretary, worked for Deloitte
  • Terence Jeyaretnam, Auditing and Assurance Standards Board member since 2023, works for EY
  • Chris Jordan, former commissioner of taxation, worked for KPMG
  • Mike Kaiser, director-general at the Queensland Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning, worked for KPMG
  • Adrian King, Australian Accounting Standards Board member since 2022, works for KPMG
  • Katie Kiss, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice commissioner, worked for PwC’s Indigenous Consulting
  • Alison Kitchen, Respect@Work council member since 2022, works for KPMG
  • Alana Matheson, commissioner at the Fair Work Commission since 2021, worked for KPMG
  • Andrew Metcalfe, federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry secretary since 2020, worked for EY
  • Chi Mun Woo, Auditing and Assurance Standards Board member, works for Deloitte
  • Mathew Nelson, Australian Accounting Standards Board member, works for EY
  • Bola Oyetunji, NSW auditor-general, worked for Deloitte and EY
  • Andrew Parker, NSW senior trade and investment commissioner, worked for PwC
  • Fran Thorn, Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission chair, worked for Deloitte
  • Tim Thomas, Centre for Australia-India Relations chief executive, worked for KPMG
  • John Walsh, non-executive director at NSW’s icare, worked for PwC

Senior public servants who became consultants

Did we miss anyone? Know an MP or senior bureaucrat who should be on this list? Get in touch with us at pgearin@themandarin.com.au and let him know.

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The Mandarin and Crikey’s ‘revolving door’ list: How power bleeds between politics and the Big Four

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