Vince FitzGerald

Dr Vincent "Vince" FitzGerald AO is a former senior Australian public servant, now a private consultant.

Dr Vince Fitzgerald AO
Secretary of the Department of Trade
In office 4 March 1986 – 24 July 1987
Secretary of the Department of Employment, Education and Training
In office 24 July 1987 – 1 March 1989
Personal details
Born	Vincent FitzGerald
Nationality	Australian
Alma mater	University of Queensland Harvard University
Occupation	Public servant

Early life

Vince FitzGerald was schooled at St Augustine's College, Cairns.[1] FitzGerald graduated from the University of Queensland in 1969 with a Bachelor of Economics with first class honours in Econometrics, and a University Medal.[2]

Career

FitzGerald joined the Australian Public Service in 1969 as a research officer with the Australian Bureau of Statistics.[2]

In 1985, FitzGerald was appointed a Deputy Secretary in the Department of Trade.[3] He was promoted to Secretary of the Department in March 1986.[4]

In July 1987, FitzGerald was shifted to the newly created Department of Employment, Education and Training.[5] FitzGerald left the role in 1989 to join consulting firm Geoff Allen and Associates, a higher-paid job in the private sector.[6]

As a consultant, FitzGerald was the architect of the compulsory superannuation scheme introduced by the Keating Government in 1992.[7] Superannuation was later refined in response to FitzGerald's June 1993 publication National Savings: A Report to the Treasurer in which he identified the importance of national saving, and recommended ways in which national saving could be increased.[8]

In 1995, Paul Keating called FitzGerald a "sour ex-bureaucrat" and claimed that FitzGerald had wanted to be Secretary of the Treasury but was upset to have never made it.[9] This was a response to a criticism FitzGerald made to aspects of a Keating Budget.

Awards

In June 2016, FitzGerald was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished services to business through executive and advisory roles in economic policy development, public administration and financial management organisations, and to the community.[10]

References

1. Vince Fitzgerald: Director, Melbourne, Acil Allen Consulting, archived from the original on 26 January 2014
2. Vince FitzGerald, archived from the original on 25 April 2012
3. "Trade position filled". The Canberra Times. 19 July 1985. p. 7. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014.
4. CA 3500: Department of Trade [II], Central Office, National Archives of Australia, retrieved 23 February 2014
5. CA 5986: Department of Employment, Education and Training, National Office, National Archives of Australia, retrieved 23 February 2014
6. "In Brief: Another DEET senior goes". The Canberra Times. 10 November 1989. p. 5. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014.
7. Jopson, Debra (7 April 2012). "Super unfair, says its creator". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media.
8. Duval, D.B. (1994), The Financing and Costing of Government Superannuation Schemes (PDF), Australian Government Actuary, p. 5, ISBN 0 644 34863 1, archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2014
9. Cole-Adams, Peter (23 September 1995). "Keating's day of the blowtorch". The Canberra Times. p. 1. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014.
10. White, Andrew (13 June 2016). "Queen's birthday honours 2016: FitzGerald's front row seat on reform". The Australian. News Corp.

Government offices
Preceded by John Menadue	Secretary of the Department of Trade 1986 – 1987	Succeeded by Stuart Harris as Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Preceded by Helen Williams as Secretary of the Department of Education	Secretary of the Department of Employment, Education and Training 1987 – 1989	Succeeded by Greg Taylor