Martyn John Dunne, (born 16 January 1950) is a retired
New Zealand Army
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officer, a diplomat and senior public servant. He was the chief executive of the
Ministry for Primary Industries. From 2011 until 2013 he was
New Zealand High Commissioner to Australia based in
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
. He was Comptroller of Customs and Chief Executive of the
New Zealand Customs Service
The New Zealand Customs Service (Customs, Māori: ''Te Mana Ārai o Aotearoa'') is a state sector organisation in New Zealand whose role is to provide border control and protect the community from potential risks arising from international trade ...
(2004–2011) after a career as soldier in the New Zealand Army from 1970 ending his military career in 2004 as
Commander Joint Forces New Zealand
The Commander Joint Forces New Zealand (COMJFNZ) is a senior appointment in the New Zealand Defence Force, responsible for the command of Headquarters Joint Forces New Zealand. The COMJFNZ is, in effect, the operational commander of all joint opera ...
with the rank of major general. In September 1999, Dunne led the New Zealand Force East Timor during New Zealand's largest deployment since World War II, and as the Senior National Officer and, with the rank of brigadier, commanded the Dili Command, an operational formation in the
International Force East Timor
The International Force East Timor (INTERFET) was a multinational non-United Nations peacemaking task force, organised and led by Australia in accordance with United Nations resolutions to address the humanitarian and security crisis that took ...
, until 2000.
Early life
Dunne was born on 16 January 1950 in Auckland, New Zealand. He received his secondary education at
St Peter's College, Auckland
St Peter's College ( mi, Te Kura Teitei o Hāto Petera) is a Catholic church, Catholic secondary school single-sex education, for boys in the Edmund Ignatius Rice, Edmund Rice tradition, and dedicated to St Peter. it is located in the Auckland CBD ...
.
Army career
Dunne began his military service with the Territorial Force of the
New Zealand Army
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in 1971. He was transferred to the Regular Force in October 1977 at the rank of lieutenant, in the
Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment. He was posted to 1 Ranger Squadron,
New Zealand Special Air Service
The 1st New Zealand Special Air Service Regiment, abbreviated as 1 NZSAS Regt, was formed on 7 July 1955 and is the Special forces unit of the New Zealand Army, closely modelled on the British Special Air Service (SAS). It traces its origins to ...
, Papakura, and employed as a troop commander. As captain, he was deployed overseas with the New Zealand Army Truce Monitoring Contingent in
South Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally know ...
. In July 1989, Dunne was appointed commandant of the Officer Cadet School in Waiouru and promoted to lieutenant colonel. In September 1999 he was deployed with the New Zealand Force East Timor as the senior national officer. He was promoted to brigadier in October 1999 and commanded Dili Command, an operational formation in the
International Force East Timor
The International Force East Timor (INTERFET) was a multinational non-United Nations peacemaking task force, organised and led by Australia in accordance with United Nations resolutions to address the humanitarian and security crisis that took ...
(INTERFET). In that capacity in East Timor, Dunne commanded New Zealand Forces and international troops during New Zealand's largest deployment since World War II. He was promoted to the rank of major general on 2 April 2001 prior to assuming his appointment as
Commander Joint Forces New Zealand
The Commander Joint Forces New Zealand (COMJFNZ) is a senior appointment in the New Zealand Defence Force, responsible for the command of Headquarters Joint Forces New Zealand. The COMJFNZ is, in effect, the operational commander of all joint opera ...
(COMJFNZ), which post he held until 2004.
Dunne is a graduate from the
Australian College of Defence and Strategic Studies
The Australian Defence College (ADC) comprises three joint education and training organisations operated by the Australian Defence Force in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory:
* the War College,
* the Australian Defence Force Training Ce ...
and from the
Australian Command and Staff College
The Australian Defence College (ADC) comprises three joint education and training organisations operated by the Australian Defence Force in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory:
* the War College,
* the Australian Defence Force Training Cent ...
. He has a Master of Arts degree in strategic studies from
La Trobe University
La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria an ...
, Melbourne. He was made a
Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for those ...
in the
2000 Queen's Birthday Honours, following his service in East Timor.
Public service
Dunne was comptroller and chief executive of the New Zealand Customs Service from September 2004 until March 2011. During his time with the New Zealand Customs Service, he has also served on a number of state sector leadership and advisory boards, including the Leadership Development Centre. In June 2008, Dunne was elected chairperson of the World Customs Organisation (WCO), an intergovernmental organisation headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. He continued this role throughout his service with New Zealand Customs. In March 2011, Dunne became
New Zealand High Commissioner to Australia a position he held until October 2013. He was then appointed chief executive of the
Ministry for Primary Industries beginning on 18 November 2013. He retired from the MPI role in 2018.
"Appointments of public service chief executives" Press Release, State Services Commission, 12 June 2018.
(Retrieved 6 April 2019)
Dunne was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order
The Queen's Service Order, established by royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the pu ...
, for services to the State, in the 2019 New Year Honours
The 2019 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...
.
Honours and awards
Notes
References
* The Defence Portfolio: Briefing to the Incoming Government 2002, Major-General M.J. (Martyn) Dunne, CNZ
This article incorporates text from this source, which i
licensed
under th
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand Licence
* "Appointment of CEO of NZ Customs Service" ''New Zealand Herald'', Press Release: State Services Commission 24 August 2004 14:43, Retrieved 5 March 2008 from ''The Knowledge Basket'' database
* Ron Crosby, ''NZSAS: The First Fifty Years'', Viking (Penguin), Auckland 2009.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunne, Martyn John
1950 births
Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit
New Zealand generals
New Zealand people of Irish descent
People from Auckland
People educated at St Peter's College, Auckland
Living people
New Zealand public servants
High Commissioners of New Zealand to Australia
Companions of the Queen's Service Order
New Zealand diplomats