Dr Martin Parkinson PSM was appointed by Malcolm Turnbull to become Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Parkinson had served as the inaugural Secretary of the Department of Climate Change, Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Treasury and an International Monetary Fund official.
Between 2011 and 2015, Parkinson was Secretary of the Department of the Treasury. On 21 September 2011 he wrote to Wayne Swan (ALP Treasurer from 2007 to 2013) congratulating him on being made Euromoney Finance Minister of the Year.
‘The award recognises the role of the Government’s policies in contributing to the resilience of the Australian economy following the Global Financial Crisis.
‘It is often overlooked in Australia that the Global Financial Crisis was followed by the deepest recession in the world economy since World War II. The Australian economy performed better during this period than other advanced economies on nearly all relevant indicators. Financial conditions were stressed, but the financial system held up remarkably well; the economy slows, but did not fall into recession: and while unemployment rose, it did so by far less than in many other advanced economies.’
Parkinson resigned (rather than being sacked) when Tony Abbott became Prime Minister.
Leading economists favour ALP economic plan over the LNP’s
Peter Martin reports in the Brisbane Times (25.6.16):
‘Of the 23 leading economists polled for the Scope BusinessDay Economic Survey, those that answered the questions about tax backed Labor’s plan 10 to three and opposed the Coalition’s plan 10 to six. ‘The key objection to the Coalition’s company tax cuts was that they would have to be funded, most likely from bracket creep, higher taxes, or cuts to government spending. Estimates of the ongoing cost range from $9 billion to $13 billion per year.’