Director-General reshuffle

The Qld Government has announced a series of Director-General appointments. Public service appointments include:

·       Andrew Chesterman will move from Department of Environment and Heritage Protection to become Public Service Commissioner,

·       Jon Black will move from the Department of Energy and Water Supply to become Director-General of the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection,

·       Dan Hunt will move from the Department of Natural Resources and Mines to become Director-General of the Department of Energy and Water Supply,

·       Dr Brett Heyward will move from Queensland Health Renewal Taskforce to become the Director-General of the Department of Natural Resources and Mines,

·       Sue Rickerby will move from the Department of Premier and Cabinet to become the Director-General of the Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts.

This week, I received a letter from outgoing Director General of the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection: Mr Andrew Chesterman as follows:

I am writing to advise that I have been asked to take up the role of CEO of the Public Service Commission and so I will be leaving the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (EHP).  I would like ot thank you for your support over the past 18 months as we put in place a new customer-first approach to the way environment and heritage regulatory activities are undertaken in Queensland.

Since its establishment in April 2012, EHP has significantly changed its philosophy to ensure that its work not only protects and maintains the state’s environment but also helps to create jobs and contribute to a growing economy.

This customer-centric philosophy has become deeply in-grained in all our activities – from developing new regulatory reform policies, to implementing practical on-the-ground best management practice programs, to delivering high quality front-line services, both in Brisbane and right around Queensland.  This approach to business will not change.

Under the stewardship of Minister Powell, the department set out to listen to business and industry needs, particularly the need to cut green tape, streamline processes and reduce processing times. We also set ourselves an ambitious goal – to be the benchmark that all other environment and heritage protection agencies in Australia aspire to reach.

In response we have delivered a new framework for the way environment and regulatory activities are undertaken in Queensland.

We have established clear performance outcomes and have been flexible with environmental assessments, rather than dictating requirements.

We have also worked hard to make it easier and cheaper for you to apply for and obtain environmental approvals and we have reduced the processing time for environmental impact statements for major project proposals.  Last year we completed impact assessments for proposals which will support $5 billion in capital expenditure and 600 jobs if they are developed as approved.

We have also listened to your request to make our performance more transparent and now regularly publish our performance report on the EHP website.

In my new role as head of the Public Service Commission, I will be leveraging from my experience in EHP by instilling this customer-first philosophy across all government public sector agencies.

Meanwhile Jon Black will take over as Director-General of EHP and continue to deliver on the agenda we have set.

Jon has a strong background in water management in Queensland as the former Director-General of the department of Energy and Water Supply.  Previous to this Jon was the CEO of the Northern South-East Queensland (SEQ) Distributor-Retailer Authority, UnityWater, and prior to that the SEQ water and sewerage distribution business.

I can assure you that the co-operative partnership between the Minister and the department will not change.  We are well placed to continue the renewal and reform process the government has requested of us.

Again, I would like to thank you for the support I have received over the past 18 months as we have worked with business and industry towards achieving sustainable development across Queensland.

Yours sincerely

Andrew Chesterman

Director-General