Paul Hunter Barratt (19 March 1944 – 3 October 2021) was a senior Australian public servant, policymaker and peace activist. He was Chairman of Australia21, Chairman of UNE Foundation, and President and co-founder of Australians for War Powers Reform.
Background and early life
Paul Barratt was born in 1944 and two years later his family moved to
Armidale
Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 24,504 as of June 2018. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region. It ...
, when his father was offered a position with the
University of New England.
He attended the Armidale Demonstration School between 1949 and 1955 and sat his New South Wales Leaving Certificate at
The Armidale School
, motto_translation = Without God, Nothing
, location = Armidale, New England Tablelands, New South Wales
, country = Australia
, coordinates =
, pushpin_map = Australia New ...
in 1960. In 1961 he began his degree at the
University of New England, living in Wright College and graduating with an honours degree in physics.
Career
Barratt joined the
Commonwealth Public Sector in the
Department of Defence Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to:
Current departments of defence
* Department of Defence (Australia)
* Department of National Defence (Canada)
* Department of Defence (Ireland)
* Department of National Defense (Philipp ...
in 1966.
Between 1974 and 1985, Barratt was a Deputy Secretary in the
Department of Trade
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
and accompanied Prime Minister
Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and union organiser who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (A ...
on his February 1984 visit to China.
[
Between 1992 and 1996 Barratt was Executive Director at the ]Business Council of Australia
The Business Council of Australia (BCA) is an industry association that comprises the chief executives of more than 100 of Australia's biggest corporations. It was formed in 1983 by the merger of the Business Roundtable – a spin-off of the Comm ...
.[ In 1996, Barratt rejoined 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 ...
as Secretary
A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...
of the Department of Primary Industries and Energy
The Department of Primary Industries and Energy was an Australian government department that existed between July 1987 and October 1998.
Scope
Information about the department's functions and/or government funding allocation could be ...
, offered the role by Prime Minister 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 ...
, on the recommendation of Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson. Barratt had accepted a $70,000 pay cut to return to the public sector.[
Barratt transferred from the Department of Primary Industries and Energy to a second Secretary role in 1998, this time at the Department of Defence.
Barratt was dismissed from his Secretary role at Defence in August 1999, with a letter saying he was being dismissed because his minister John Moore "had lost trust and confidence" in his abilities to perform his duties.]Alison Broinowski
Alison Elizabeth Broinowski, ( Woodroffe; born 25 October 1941) is an Australian academic, journalist, writer and former Australian public servant.
Biography
Alison Woodroffe was born in Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of Sout ...
) and President of Australians for War Powers Reform. From 2015 to 2021 Barratt was an Adjunct Professor of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at the University of New England.
Death
In June 2021, Barratt stood down from his executive and academic roles due to illness.Alex Wodak
Alexander David Wodak, AM is a physician and the former director of the Alcohol and Drug Service, at St Vincent's Hospital, in Sydney, Australia.
Wodak is a notable advocate of drug reform laws. Wodak helped establish the National Drug and ...
announced that Barratt had died the night before. He was 77.
Awards
In 1997 Barratt received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of New England.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 ...
for service to public administration, public policy development, business and international trade.[ In 2019 he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters Honoris Causa (HonDLitt) by the UNE Council.
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barratt, Paul
1944 births
2021 deaths
Australian anti-war activists
People from Sydney
Australian public servants
University of New England (Australia) alumni
Australian National University alumni
Officers of the Order of Australia
Secretaries of the Australian Department of Defence