Paul Grimes (public servant)

Paul Francis Grimes PSM is a senior Australian public servant. Between September 2013 and March 2015, he was Secretary of the Australian Government Department of Agriculture.

Paul Grimes
PSM
28th Secretary of the NSW Treasury
In office
29 January 2022 – 14 April 2023
Secretary of the Department of Agriculture
In office
18 September 2013 – March 2015
Secretary of the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities
In office
June 2011 – 18 September 2013
Personal details
Born
Paul Francis Grimes
NationalityAustralia Australian
Alma materFlinders University
Australian National University
OccupationPublic servant

Life and career

Grimes received a Bachelor of Economics from Flinders University in 1989,[1] later completing a Masters of Economics and a PhD in Economics at the Australian National University.[2] His PhD thesis, which he completed in 1994, was titled The Determinants of Trade Union Membership: Evidence from Two Australian Surveys. He finished his secondary education at the Armand Hammer United World College of the American West in 1984.

In the South Australian public service, Grimes obtained the role of Deputy Under Secretary in the Department of Treasury and Finance.[3]

Between March 2005 and January 2007, Grimes was ACT Under Treasurer in the ACT Public Service.[4] In the role he oversaw the ACT Government's transition to the GFS accounting system, a change that then Treasurer Jon Stanhope suggested would enable the Government to have a more realistic and less volatile basis upon which to base budgeting decisions. He also assisted in developing and delivering the 2006–07 ACT Government Budget, which involved major structural change to ACT Government agencies; and consolidated IT and procurement services across the ACT public service.[4]

In January 2007, Grimes took up an Australian Public Service position as Deputy Secretary in the Department of Finance and Administration.[5] He stayed in the Department when it transitioned to become the Department of Finance and Deregulation, heading the Budget Group as its General Manager.[5]

Grimes was appointed Acting Secretary of the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities in September 2010,[6] moving into the role formally in 2011.[7][8] His responsibilities at the Department included matters related to environment protection and conservation of biodiversity, air quality, national fuel quality standards and administration of the Australian Antarctic Territory.[9]

In September 2013, after the Abbott government was sworn in, Grimes was transferred to head the Department of Agriculture.[10][11] In the role, Grimes was responsible for matters including the agricultural, pastoral, fishing, food and forest industries, rural adjustment and drought issues, food security policy and programs, and quarantine.[12]

In March 2015, Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce announced Grimes would be stepping down from his Secretary position,[13][14] with media reporting that Joyce and Grimes were understood to have different philosophical views on environmental issues.[15] Grimes reportedly wrote that he "agreed that the minister would be better supported... by a new secretary with a different background and set of policy skills."[16]

Grimes was appointed Commissioner of the Victorian Public Sector Commission in December 2017. His term begins on 22 January 2018. He left the role in January 2020 in order to be closer to his family in Canberra.[17]

In April 2020, Grimes was appointed by the New South Wales Department of Planning, Industry and Environment to the role of Coordinator General Environment, Energy and Science, commencing on 6 April 2020. In the role, he worked with the state Minister for Energy and Environment Matt Kean.[18] In January 2022, Grimes was appointed by Kean, who had become state Treasurer in October 2021, to be the 28th Secretary of the NSW Treasury, beginning on 29 January 2022.[19] Grimes was sacked by the new Labor state government on 14 April 2023.[20][21]

Awards

In June 2010, Grimes was awarded a Public Service Medal for outstanding public service in the development of the Australian Government's response to the global financial crisis.[22]

References
  1. Flinders University (June 2010). "A rich mix in Queen's Birthday honours" (Press release). Flinders University. Archived from the original on 17 March 2015.
  2. Malone, Paul (3 March 2013). "Abbott PS purge on the cards". The Canberra Times. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 31 March 2014.
  3. Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (2011), Annual Report 2010–2011 (PDF), Australian Government, p. 13, archived from the original (PDF) on 11 March 2014{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. Stanhope, Jon (13 December 2006). "Under Treasurer led ACT Treasury through period of significant change and challenge" (Press release). ACT Government. Archived from the original on 14 March 2015.
  5. Jon Stanhope, Ginninderra-Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Business and Economic Development, Minister for Indigenous Affairs and Minister for the Arts (13 December 2006). "Dr Paul Grimes". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). ACT Government: ACT Legislative Assembly. p. 4127. Archived from the original on 3 April 2011.
  6. Moran, Terry (14 September 2010). "New Acting Secretary Arrangements" (Press release). Archived from the original on 27 February 2014.
  7. Gillard, Julia (1 June 2011). "Departmental Secretaries" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014.
  8. New top bureaucrat appointments announced, Government Career, 2 June 2011, archived from the original on 15 May 2013
  9. Administrative Arrangements Order - 14/12/2011, Australian Government, 14 December 2011, retrieved 14 March 2015
  10. Department of Agriculture, Dr Paul Grimes, Secretary, Australian Government, archived from the original on 1 November 2014
  11. Dr Paul Grimes, Secretary, Department of Agriculture, 24 September 2013, archived from the original on 11 February 2014
  12. Administrative Arrangements Order - 18/09/2013, Australian Government, 18 September 2013, retrieved 14 March 2015
  13. Aston, Heath (13 March 2015). "Barnaby Joyce's department head Paul Grimes sacked amid bad blood". The Canberra Times. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 13 March 2015.
  14. Vidot, Anna (13 March 2015). "Agriculture Department secretary steps down after falling out with Minister Barnaby Joyce". Australian Broadcasting Commission. Archived from the original on 14 March 2015.
  15. Aston, Heath (10 March 2015). "Head of Agriculture Department's mystery leave sparks speculation of fallout with Barnaby Joyce". The Age. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 14 March 2015.
  16. Crowe, David (13 March 2015). "Barnaby Joyce 'terminates' top official Paul Grimes". The Australian. News Ltd. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  17. "VPS commissioner leaves role to be with family". The Mandarin. 29 January 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  18. "Dr Paul Grimes to coordinate NSW Environment Energy and Science". Department of Planning, Industry and Environment - Environment, Energy and Science Group. 6 April 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  19. "Announcement on NSW Treasury Secretary". NSW Government. 25 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  20. "Minns Government public service changes to tackle state's challenges". NSW Government. 14 April 2023.
  21. "Senior bosses of NSW education, transport and treasury sacked by new Labor government". ABC News. 14 April 2023.
  22. Search Australian Honours: GRIMES, Paul Francis, Australian Government, archived from the original on 1 November 2014
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