Malcolm John Hazell, (born 17 December 1948) is a retired Australian public servant. He was the
Official Secretary to two
Governors-General of Australia
The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.[Peter Hollingworth
Peter John Hollingworth (born 10 April 1935) is an Australian retired Anglican bishop. Engaged in social work for several decades, he served as the archbishop of the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane in Queensland for 11 years from 1989 and was the ...](_blank)
(2003) and Major General
Michael Jeffery (2003–2008).
Early life
Hazell was born in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
, Queensland, on 17 December 1948 to Neville John Hazell, a
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
veteran, and his wife Joan Nell (née Ekelund), a former writer in the
Women's Royal Australian Naval Service
The Women's Royal Australian Naval Service (WRANS) was the women's branch of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). In 1941, fourteen members of the civilian Women's Emergency Signalling Corps (WESC) were recruited for wireless telegraphy work at ...
.
[ ] Hazell was educated at the
Anglican Church Grammar School and the
University of Queensland
, mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work
, established =
, endowment = A$224.3 million
, budget = A$2.1 billion
, type = Public research university
, chancellor = Peter Varghese
, vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry
, city = B ...
, gaining a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree with
Honours.
Career
Malcolm Hazell had over 30 years experience in the
Australian Public Service
The Australian Public Service (APS) is the federal civil service of the Commonwealth of Australia responsible for the public administration, public policy, and public services of the departments and executive and statutory agencies of the G ...
. He joined the
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) in 1974, holding policy advising positions. He worked on parliamentary and government matters and international relations. As Head of the Office of Ceremonial and Hospitality, he supervised many arrangements, including the Australian Bicentenary celebrations in 1988, and he was the Commonwealth Director of Royal Visits to Australia. He was the Head of the Cabinet Secretariat from 1996 to 1998.
He was seconded to the position of Senior Government Adviser in the office of the
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
John Howard
John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...
. In 2003, he became
Official Secretary to the Governor-General of Australia,
Peter Hollingworth
Peter John Hollingworth (born 10 April 1935) is an Australian retired Anglican bishop. Engaged in social work for several decades, he served as the archbishop of the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane in Queensland for 11 years from 1989 and was the ...
. That position also entails being Secretary of the
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
. On Hollingworth's resignation later that year, he continued to serve his successor Major General
Michael Jeffery.
In August 2008, there was considerable media comment when it was revealed that Jeffery's successor-designate,
Quentin Bryce, had decided that she would appoint
Stephen Brady
Stephen Christopher Brady (born 11 June 1959) is a former Australian career diplomat. In 1999 he and his partner Peter Stephens became the world's first officially acknowledged same sex ambassadorial couple, when they were presented to Queen ...
as her Official Secretary when she took office on 5 September. This meant that Hazell's job would be ending and, although he made no public comment, he was reported to be "distraught" when informed of the matter three weeks earlier by the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet,
Terry Moran
Terry Moran is an American journalist, currently Senior National Correspondent at ABC News. Based in Washington, D.C., Moran covers national politics and policy, reporting from the Trump White House, the Supreme Court, and the campaign trail fo ...
.
It was reported that Jeffery confronted Bryce about the matter when they met in Brisbane.
However, Prime Minister
Kevin Rudd stated that neither he nor his office played any part in Bryce's decision.
[ At the same time, he defended Bryce's right to decide who her Official Secretary should be, and said that Hazell would be offered another position within the public service.
]
Honours
On 10 May 1988, Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
invested Hazell as a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Monarchy of Canada, Canadian monarch, Mon ...
for his services during the 1988 Royal Visit.
In 2008, Hazell was made a Knight of the Order of St John of Jerusalem.
On 8 June 2009, Hazell was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
"For service to the community and to successive Australian Governments through senior positions in the Australian Public Service, and as Official Secretary to the Governor-General of Australia." He received the insignia of the award from the current Governor-General, Ms Quentin Bryce, at an investiture at Government House, Canberra on 7 September 2009.
On 11 June 2010, Hazell was appointed an Extra Equerry to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. He was advanced to Officer of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
in the 2021 Australia Day Honours
The 2021 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2021 by the Governor General of Australia, David Hurley.
The Australia ...
.
Personal
From 1994 to 2006 Hazell served on the board of Canberra Grammar School
, motto_translation = For God, for Church, for Country
, city = Red Hill
, state = Australian Capital Territory
, country = Australia
, coordinates =
, type ...
, as Chair of the Education Committee and also as deputy chairman of the board. He is also involved in community education activities with the Anglican Church.
He is married and has two sons.
References
Sources
Edited transcript of a presentation to the ACT Branch of the Order of Australia Association, 23 March 2004
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hazell, Malcolm
1948 births
Australian Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order
Australian public servants
Living people
Officers of the Order of Australia
People educated at Anglican Church Grammar School
People from Brisbane
University of Queensland alumni