Derek Volker

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Derek Volker AO
Secretary of the Department of Veterans' Affairs
In office
1981 – 14 November 1986
Secretary of the Department of Social Security
In office
14 November 1986 – 24 March 1993
Secretary of the Department of Employment, Education and Training
In office
24 March 1993 – 11 March 1996
Personal details
Born1939 (age 82–83)
NationalityAustralia Australian
OccupationPublic servant

Derek Volker AO (born 1939) is a retired senior Australian public servant.

Life and career[]

Born in 1939,[1] Volker was educated at Toowoomba State High School and the University of Queensland.[2]

Volker's early Australian Public Service career was in the Department of Labour and the Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs.[3]

Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser appointed Volker as Secretary of the Department of Veterans' Affairs in 1981, with the mandate to clean up the administration of the department.[4]

In 1986, Prime Minister Bob Hawke transferred Volker to a position as Secretary the Department of Social Security (DSS).[3] In his time at DSS, Volker had to deal with the pressures of the recession and its impact on Social Security offices, including long queues and increasing tension.[5]

Prime Minister Paul Keating announced Volker's transfer from the Department of Social Security to the Department of Employment, Education and Training in March 1993.[6]

In 1996, Volker was one of six Secretaries removed from their roles by the newly elected Howard Government.[7] Political scientist Richard Mulgan speculates that Volker's removal was a result of Prime Minister John Howard's "determination to impose a new sense of direction" on the public service".[8]

After leaving the Australian Public Service, Volker stayed in the workforce and took on various senior roles in both government and non-government organisations, including as Chairman at the Government Relations Group in the national law firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth,[9] Chair of the ACT Government's Skills Commission,[10] and Chairman of the Defence Housing Australia Board of Directors.[9]

Awards[]

In January 1991, Volker was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for public service.[11]

References[]

  1. ^ "Search results: subject:"Volker, Derek, 1939-"", Trove, National Library of Australia, retrieved 13 February 2014
  2. ^ Coyle, Kerry (18 August 1985). "Derek Volker: doesn't worry about trifles". The Canberra Times. p. 24.
  3. ^ a b Hawke, Robert (14 November 1986). "Untitled" (Press release). Archived from the original on 5 February 2014.
  4. ^ Frail, Rod (1 October 1985). "Senior public servant could head Bicentennial Authority". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 2.
  5. ^ Blewett, Neal (1999), "Chapter 1: January–February 1992—Towards One Nation", A Cabinet Diary: A personal record of the first Keating Government, Wakefield Press, p. 29, ISBN 1 86254 464 6
  6. ^ Keating, Paul (24 March 1993). "Statement by the Prime Minister, the Hon P J Keating MP" (Press release). Archived from the original on 5 February 2014.
  7. ^ Nethercote, J.R. (7 December 2010). "Memoirs suggest servants are ever overlooked". The Canberra Times. Fairfax Media.
  8. ^ Mulgan, Richard (10 November 1998), Politicising the Australian Public Service?, Australian Parliament House, archived from the original on 5 February 2014
  9. ^ a b Board of Directors, Defence Housing Australia, archived from the original on 26 January 2014
  10. ^ Griffiths, John (6 June 2010), Sound jobs for sound chaps, archived from the original on 11 May 2013
  11. ^ Search Australian Honours: VOLKER, Derek, Australian Government
Government offices
Preceded by Secretary of the Department of Veterans' Affairs
1981 – 1986 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Secretary of the Department of Social Security
1986 – 1993 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Secretary of the Department of Employment, Education and Training
1993 – 1996 		Succeeded byas Secretary of the Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs
Retrieved from ""