[Peetwo]

Is Betts a fair bett??

Via the Mandarin...  

Jim Betts on getting sh*t done in 2023



One of Jim Betts’ highlights of 2022 was telling senate estimates he had never been a member of the Communist Party.
Betts joined the APS last year when he was named secretary of the federal department with the longest name – the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts. Prior to this, he had spent time as a state bureaucrat in the Victorian and NSW governments.

In this instalment of The Mandarin‘s Secretary’s Sticky Notes series, in which we ask departmental leaders five questions about their role and what they expect to face this year, Betts lays out how he’s approaching his department’s wide remit with staff wellbeing front of mind.

1. What’s at the top of your department’s agenda for 2023?

As the name implies, the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts’ agenda is diverse.

In 2023, we’ll be looking to put proper strategic frameworks around the commonwealth’s roles in urban policy, regional development and infrastructure investment, making us an informed and influential investor, not just a writer of cheques.
Key to those frameworks will be the towering priorities of decarbonising our economy and redressing intergenerational disadvantage, not least for First Nations people.

We need to make sure that regulation protects safety and the public interest whilst enabling new technology and services, ranging from online digital platforms to automated vehicles and drones.

We have an ambitious agenda for media reform, strengthening democracy and public interest journalism, extending digital connectivity and delivering the landmark National Cultural Policy – Revive – launched by the prime minister and arts minister on January 30.

2. What do you think the biggest challenge will be for your department in 2023?

The government’s agenda is ambitious and resources are tight after years of compounding efficiency measures. Our people are tired and have been working round the clock since the earliest days of COVID. On the other hand, “if not now, when?”
We have a huge opportunity to make a difference on our watch, but it mustn’t come at the expense of the health and wellbeing of APS staff.

3. What is your biggest leadership challenge?

My biggest challenge, as always, is to extinguish the fear and deference that the hierarchical culture of the APS can engender.

The robodebt royal commission has yet to conclude, but we have seen enough sobering evidence of the harm that fear can do when it creates a culture of silence and complicity. I want a department that is daring, kind, creative, collaborative and inclusive.

And as the referendum draws near, I want my Indigenous colleagues to know that their secretary is on their side, always striving to create a workplace that is safe, respectful and directed at delivering real results in partnership with community.

4. What was the highlight of 2022?

I read 75 novels. I was a consultant for nine weeks. I joined the APS. I got to tell senate estimates that I was not and had never been a member of the Communist Party.

5. What’s your motto for the public service in 2023?

Be kind. Listen carefully and with compassion. Get sh*t done.

As a side note it was pointed out to me that Secretary Jim Betts has also been appointed (probably because he was told to) on another bureaucratic WOFTAM agency, the National Transport Commission: see here - https://www.ntc.gov.au/about-ntc/who-we-...missioners

Here's his bio:

Commissioner 

Jim was appointed as Secretary of the Commonwealth Department of Infrastructure, Transport Regional Development, Communications and the Arts in July 2022. He's spent over 30 years working in government agencies in the U.K, Victoria and New South Wales. 

Prior to becoming Secretary, Jim was a partner at strategy consultancy EY Port Jackson Partners and previously led the New South Wales Department of Planning, Industry and Environment as Secretary. During that period, the Department undertook transformational reform in areas like land use planning, water, urban design, sustainability, climate change, biodiversity conservation and energy. 

From 2013 to 2019, Jim was Chief Executive Officer of Infrastructure NSW where he led the development of two State Infrastructure Strategies, oversaw the state’s infrastructure program, delivered major state infrastructure projects and developed a state plan for the construction sector.

Before moving to New South Wales, Jim held roles as Secretary for the Victorian Transport Department and Victoria’s Director of Public Transport. 

 
So the guy is a doer...

 Maybe this is why you can see the obvious frustrations of JB with both the Committee and his Aviation & Airport division team, in this segment of the RRAT Senate Estimates: 

I also wouldn't mind being a fly on the wall for the NTC meetings for the interactions between JB and WOFTAM career bureaucrat and former ATSB Rail Commissioner Carolyn Walsh?? 

Hmm...passing strange that in CW's bio that there seems to be an omission of the 10 years that CW spent as a ATSB Commissioner:  

Chair

Carolyn commenced as Chair of the National Transport Commission on 1 January 2018. She has been a Commissioner since 1 January 2014.

Carolyn is currently a member of the Board of the NSW Environment Protection Authority and a member of a number of NSW Government agency audit and risk committees. She also provides consultancy services in safety and risk management.

Her past roles with the NSW Government have included Chief Executive of the Independent Transport Safety and Reliability Regulator and Executive Director, Office of the Coordinator General of Rail. She has also held several positions within the Commonwealth Department of Industry, Science and Resources.

Carolyn has a Bachelor of Economics and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

MTF...P2