Ron Brown (Australian public servant)

Ron Brown is a retired senior Australian public servant. He was Secretary of the Department of Immigration, Local Government and Ethnic Affairs between 1987 and 1990 under the Hawke Government.

Ron Brown
Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs
In office 21 May 1987 – 24 July 1987
Secretary of the Department of Immigration, Local Government and Ethnic Affairs
In office 24 July 1987 – 1 April 1990
Personal details
Nationality	Australian
Occupation	Public servant and Company director

Career

Ron Brown was the State Director of Social Security in the Northern Territory, Tasmania, South Australia and New South Wales between 1977 and 1985, and then Executive Director at the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) between 1985 and 1987.[1][2]

In May 1987, Brown was appointed Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs (later Department of Immigration, Local Government and Ethnic Affairs).[3]

Brown left the Australian Public Service shortly after the 1990 federal election,[4] thought to have been sacked by Prime Minister Bob Hawke, perhaps due to his not being sufficiently responsive to certain ethnic communities, or perhaps as an effort to remove Brown's Deputy Secretary, Tony Harris.[5][6]

References

1. Ingram, David (21 April 2011), Can this man save SBS?, archived from the original on 16 January 2013, Although the first managing director, R.E. Fowell, came from commercial radio, his successor Ron Brown was a professional public servant — but both in their way suited the times. Between Fowell’s appointment in 1978 and Ron Brown’s departure in 1987, SBS functioned as a start-up public service broadcaster, beginning with a multilingual radio service then adding a fledgling television station.
2. Malone, Paul (2006), "Chapter 11: Making the Best of It – Mark Sullivan, Department of Veterans' Affairs", Australian department heads under Howard : career paths and practice (PDF), Canberra, Australia: Australian National University, p. 73, ISBN 1-920942-83-1, archived from the original (PDF) on 6 November 2013
3. Hawke, Robert (21 May 1987). "Unknown" (Press release). Archived from the original on 27 March 2014. Mr Ron Brown has today been appointed Secretary, Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs
4. Hawke, Robert (10 April 1990). "Appoinmmnet of Secretary, Department of Immigration Local Government and Ethnic Affairs" (Press release). Archived from the original on 12 December 2013.
5. Betts, Katharine (May 2003), "Immigration policy under the Howard Government", Australian Journal of Social Issues, 38 (2): 173, For example, just after the 1990 election when Ray had been moved to Defence and a new Minister had not yet been appointed, Hawke sacked the Departmental Secretary, Ron Brown. Brown was a competent administrator who enjoyed Ray’s full support. Hawke intervened, possibly because Brown was not sufficiently responsive to the demands of ethnic communities (Hartcher, 1991b; Jupp, 1993: 216), or possibly because he wanted to remove Brown’s deputy, Tony Harris, a public servant also committed to Ray’s control agenda (Burgess, 1993). After Brown was gone, Gerry Hand was given the portfolio.
6. Goward, Pru (11 April 1990), "Head of Department of Immigration, Ron Brown, resigns amidst rumours that he was pushed out by the Office of Prime Minister and Cabinet", Morning Show, 2CN ABC radio, archived from the original on 27 January 2014

Government offices
Preceded by Bill McKinnon	Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs 1987	Succeeded by Himself as Secretary of the Department of Immigration, Local Government and Ethnic Affairs
Preceded by Himself as Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs	Secretary of the Department of Immigration, Local Government and Ethnic Affairs 1987 – 1990	Succeeded by Chris Conybeare
Preceded by Kenneth Norman Jones as Secretary of the Department of Local Government and Administrative Services