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John Lloyd (Australian public servant)

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John Lloyd
PSM
Australian Public Service Commissioner
In office
December 2014 – 08 Aug 2018
Personal details
Born
John Richard Lloyd
NationalityAustralia Australian
OccupationUnknown

John Richard Lloyd PSM was a senior Australian public servant. He formally resigned from the Australian Public Service on 08 Aug 2018, following controversy over his conduct and relationship with the hard right wing policy think tank, the Institute of Public Affairs, which included prominent Labor Senator Penny Wong telling Mr Lloyd during a Senate Committee that “I think you are unfit to hold this office”, and pressure on the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet to initiate an investigation into Mr Lloyd’s conduct.[1],[2]

The Australian Government Merit Protection Commissioner, Ms Linda Waugh, whose office conducted the official inquiry into John Lloyd’s conduct, found he had breached the APS Code of Conduct by failing to uphold his agency's good reputation and that Mr Lloyd did not fulfil public service values requiring bureaucrats to act in a way that models and promotes the highest standard of ethical behaviour.[3] Mr Lloyd, in reply, said that the Inquiry had damaged his reputation and he rejected its findings, citing that the Inquiry was compromised by conflict of interest.[4]

Life and career

Between 1992 and 1996, Lloyd was Executive Director of the Victorian Department of Business and Employment.[5] From 1996 to 2001, Lloyd was Chief Executive of the Western Australian Department of Productivity and Labour Relations.[5] While a Deputy Secretary in the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations from 2001 to 2004,[5] Lloyd played a key role establishing the Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry in 2001, and in advising the Howard Government about its response to the report of the Commission. He ensured that DEWR staff who attended protest rallies against the Commission were photographed and subject to workplace intimidation.

Between August 2004 and September 2005, Lloyd was Senior Deputy President of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission.[6]

Lloyd was appointed the inaugural Australian Building and Construction Commissioner in September 2005, when the Office of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner was established to monitor and promote workplace relations in the Australian building and construction industry.[6] In the role, he came up against powerful construction unions,[7] advocating industrial relations changes perceived by some, including the H. R. Nicholls Society, as an attack on workers' rights.[8] In 2010, the Labor Government announced it would not appoint John Lloyd for a second term, and named Leigh Johns as his successor in the role.[9]

In 2013, the Victorian Government appointed Lloyd as red tape commissioner, with the target to reduce red tape by 25 per cent.[10] In the role, Lloyd met with 25 different associations, and several individual businesses, before proposing 36 changes to regulations.[11]

John Lloyd is a long time member and former director of the Work Reform and Productivity Unit at economic think-tank Institute of Public Affairs.[12]

Head of the Australian Public Service Commission

In December 2014, Prime Minister Tony Abbott appointed Lloyd Australian Public Service Commissioner.[13][14][15] Early on in the role, he highlighted the need for public service managers to address concerning levels of unscheduled absences,[16] and suggested that public service middle managers were not making enough decisions or giving enough advice.[17]

During his time as commissioner, Lloyd described himself as "IPA pin-up boy" (referencing the Institute of Public Affairs), adopting a term he said was first used by the Community and Public Sector Union.[18]

Lloyd, was questioned by the Australian Senate in October 2017 about emails he had sent to his former colleagues at the Institute of Public Affairs. One email identified "generous provisions" in the public service enterprise agreements. Another described Labor Senator Penny Wong "taking a swipe" at two of the think tank's employees. Lloyd said that he only provided publicly-available information to the think tank.[18]

A freedom of information request for emails sent about Lloyd and the IPA was refused in May 2018 because an investigation was ongoing,[19] which was later revealed to be an investigation by the merit protection commission about an email Lloyd sent after his initial Senate questioning in October 2017.[20][21]

In June 2018, Lloyd said he would stand down on the 8th of August 2018 (his term was set to expire in December 2019).[22] On the day Lloyd stood down, merit protection commissioner Linda Waugh found that Lloyd's correspondence with the IPA did breach the code of conduct for federal officials, although the breaches were not so severe that they would warrant sanction.[23][3]

Awards

Lloyd was awarded a Public Service Medal in June 2004 for outstanding public service in the field of workplace relations, particularly his contribution to the Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry.[24]

References

  1. ^ 'John Lloyd, public service commissioner, quits amid questions over conduct', The Guardian Australia, 4 June 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jun/04/john-lloyd-public-service-commissioner-quits-amid-questions-over-conduct
  2. ^ 'John Lloyd resigns as public service commissioner', The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 June 2018, https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/john-lloyd-resigns-as-public-service-commissioner-20180604-p4zjcy.html
  3. ^ a b 'John Lloyd breached code of conduct over email to think tank, inquiry finds', The Sydney Morning Hearld, 8 August 2018, https://www.canberratimes.com.au/politics/federal/john-lloyd-breached-code-of-conduct-over-emails-to-think-tank-inquiry-finds-20180808-p4zwc2.html
  4. ^ 'Investigator defends misconduct inquiry after John Lloyd attack', The Sydney Morning Hearld, 19 October 2018, https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/investigator-defends-misconduct-inquiry-after-john-lloyd-attack-20181018-p50ait.html
  5. ^ a b c More information about the panel (PDF), National Press Club, 2011, archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ a b Office of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner, The Hon John Lloyd PSM B. Comm.: ABC Commissioner, Australian Government, archived from the original on 21 August 2006
  7. ^ Thomson, Phillip (22 January 2015). "Public Service Commissioner John Lloyd says ignore 'right-wing warlord' labels". The Canberra Times. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
  8. ^ Mather, Joanna (12 December 2014). "Market 'warrior' John Lloyd to head public service". Australian Financial Review. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  9. ^ "Leigh Johns named new boss of the Australian Building and Construction Commission". The Australian. News Corp. AAP. 28 September 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  10. ^ Stafford, Patrick (18 January 2013). "Meet Australia's first red tape commissioner: Why he wants to hear from small business". SmartCompany.com.au. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  11. ^ Campbell, James (8 January 2014). "State Government red tape blitz sets sights on train refunds and tourists on scooters". Herald Sun. News Corp. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  12. ^ https://ipa.org.au/people/john-lloyd | People - John Lloyd ipa.org.au
  13. ^ Australian Public Service Commission, About the Australian Public Service Commissioner, Australian Government, archived from the original on 28 February 2015
  14. ^ "Appointment of Australian Public Service Commissioner" (Press release). Australian Government. 12 December 2014. Archived from the original on 12 February 2015.
  15. ^ Thomson, Phillip (12 December 2014). "John Lloyd new Public Service Commissioner". The Canberra Times. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  16. ^ Thomson, Phillip (11 March 2015). "Public Service Commissioner John Lloyd on the attack: launches into underperformers, red tape and leak". The Canberra Times. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  17. ^ Thomson, Phillip (12 March 2015). "EL1s and EL2s need to take on more: Public Service Commissioner John Lloyd". The Canberra Times. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
  18. ^ a b Dingwall, Doug (23 October 2017). "APSC boss John Lloyd defends link to right-wing think tank IPA at Senate". Canberra Times. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  19. ^ Dingwall, Doug (18 May 2018). "PM&C withholds John Lloyd emails due to possible 'investigation'". Canberra Times. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  20. ^ Dingwall, Doug (26 July 2018). "John Lloyd faces inquiry into second complaint about conduct". Canberra Times. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  21. ^ Dingwall, Doug (26 July 2018). "John Lloyd faces inquiry into second complaint about conduct". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  22. ^ Remeikis, Amy (4 June 2018). "John Lloyd, public service commissioner, quits amid questions over conduct". the Guardian. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  23. ^ Dingwall, Doug (8 August 2018). "John Lloyd breached code of conduct over email to think tank, inquiry finds". Canberra Times. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  24. ^ "Search Australian Honours: LLOYD, John Richard. Public Service Medal", itsanhonour.gov.au, Australian Government, archived from the original on 1 April 2015
Government offices
Preceded by Australian Public Service Commissioner
2014 – 2018 		Incumbent
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