Tony Cole

Anthony Stuart Cole AO (born 17 March 1947) is a retired senior Australian public servant. He served the Commonwealth in various capacities for over 25 years.

This article is about the Australian public servant. For the songwriter, see Tony Cole (musician).

Tony Cole
AO
Secretary of the Department of Human Services and Health
In office
23 December 1993 – 1 July 1994
Secretary of the Department of Health, Housing, Local Government and Community Services
In office
24 March 1993 – 23 December 1993
Secretary of the Department of the Treasury
In office
14 February 1991 – 24 March 1993
Personal details
Born
Anthony Stuart Cole

(1947-03-17) 17 March 1947
Macksville, New South Wales
NationalityAustralia Australian
Alma materUniversity of Sydney
OccupationPublic servant

Early life

Cole was born in Macksville, New South Wales, on 17 March 1947.[1] He attended Macksville High School.[1]

Career

In 1968, Cole graduated with a Bachelor of Economics degree from the University of Sydney and joined the Department of the Treasury.[2][3]

From 1979 Cole spent two years as a senior World Bank official, saying these years were crucial in developing his views on economic policy.[4] Shortly after in 1983 Cole was appointed principal private secretary to Treasurer Paul Keating, working in the role until October 1985.[3][5]

He was appointed the thirteenth Secretary of the Department of the Treasury in 1991, remaining in the role until 1993 when he transferred to another role as Secretary of the Department of Health, Housing, Local Government and Community Services (later Department of Human Services and Health).[3][6] There was speculation at the time that Cole was removed as Treasury Secretary due to evidence he gave to a Senate inquiry into Victoria's debt blowout, the Treasurer, John Dawkins, denied the suggestion, stating that his move was just a normal part of the re-establishment of administration following an election.[7]

Cole left the public service in 1994, aged 47.[3] When he left, John Taylor, the Commonwealth Auditor-General at the time, told media "it's a tragedy that somebody of the standing and even future potential of Tony Cole should be lost to public service".[8]

After leaving the public sector, Cole was a Senior Investment Consultant and Executive in the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation’s investment consulting business for 17 years, including heading the business in the Asia Pacific region for more than five years.[2]

In 2013 and 2014, he was a member of the Abbott government's National Commission of Audit, which was established to improve the Australian government's budget.[9]

Awards

In 1995, Cole was honoured as an Officer of the Order of Australia, in recognition of service to the development of public sector policy.[10]

References
  1. CP 617: Anthony Stuart COLE, National Archives of Australia, retrieved 17 January 2014
  2. "Executive Profile: Anthony Stuart Cole AM", Bloomberg BusinessWeek, archived from the original on 30 December 2013
  3. Department of the Treasury (2001), "1991 - 2001 Key outcomes and developments", The Treasury Annual Report 2000–2001, Department of the Treasury, archived from the original on 4 July 2012
  4. Goldfinch, Shaun (2000), Remaking New Zealand and Australian Economic Policy: Ideas, Institutions and Policy Communities, Victoria University Press, p. 49, ISBN 0 86473 393 3
  5. Burgess, Verona (8 February 1991). "'Open mind' over Treasury posting". The Canberra Times. p. 3.
  6. CA 7660: Department of Health, Housing, Local Government and Community Services, Central Office, National Archives of Australia, retrieved 2 December 2013
  7. "Dawkins denies Cole was 'punished'". The Canberra Times. AAP. 30 March 1993. p. 2.
  8. Burgess, Verona (26 June 1994). "Departure of Cole 'should not have been allowed'". The Canberra Times. p. 3.
  9. Hurst, Daniel (15 January 2014). "Australia's budget is deteriorating, says commission of audit head". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014.
  10. Search Australian Honours: COLE, Anthony Stuart, Australian Government, retrieved 31 December 2013


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