Blair Comley

Blair Comley PSM
Secretary of the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency
In office 2011 – March 2013
Secretary of the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism
In office 11 March 2013 – 18 September 2013
Personal details
Born	Blair Robert Comley
Nationality	Australian
Alma mater	Monash University[1] Australian National University
Occupation	Public servant

Blair Comley PSM is a senior Australian public servant. He is currently head of the New South Wales Government Department of Premier and Cabinet.

Life and career

Blair Comley was born in the late 1960s.^[1] He holds a Bachelor of Economics (Honours) and a Master of Economics from Monash University and a Graduate Diploma in Legal Studies from the Australian National University.^[2]

Comley joined the Department of the Treasury in 1994.^[3] For three years, he represented Australia on economic policy at the OECD.^[4] In 2008, Comley was appointed Deputy Secretary of the Department of Climate Change.^[1] He was elevated to become head of the Department—by then known as the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency—in 2010.^[1]

Comley was appointed Secretary of the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism in February 2013, to commence 11 March that year.^[5] In September 2013, after the Abbott Government was sworn in, new Prime Minister Tony Abbott sacked Comley and two other departmental secretaries.^[6]

Comley was hired by PricewaterhouseCoopers in April 2014 as a Special Adviser in the Canberra Economics and Policy Team.^[7][8] By September 2014, he had been appointed head of the New South Wales Department of Premier and Cabinet.^[9]

Comley declared himself an extreme extrovert at a conference in 2015.^[10]

Awards

Comley was awarded a Public Service Medal in January 2012 for outstanding public service in the development of public policy, particularly in the areas of carbon pricing and emissions trading, tax policy design and debt management.^[11]

References

1. Maiden, Samantha (22 December 2010). "Climate head set for long haul". The Australian (News Ltd).
2. Our Secretary, Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, archived from the original on 6 September 2013
3. Alexander, Cathy (21 March 2013), The Power Index: Martin Parkinson, Blair Comley, Ross Garnaut, Crikey, archived from the original on 19 July 2014
4. Peake, Ross (18 February 2013). "Public service role changes". The Canberra Times (Fairfax Media). Archived from the original on 8 April 2014.
5. "Blair Comley to head resource dept". News.com.au (News Corp). 15 February 2013. Archived from the original on 23 August 2014.
6. "The fine print of payouts". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). 1 October 2013. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013.
7. A challenge to the community and our political process – release of the Commission of Audit report (PDF), PricewaterhouseCoopers, archived from the original (PDF) on 2 July 2014
8. Coorey, Phillip (23 April 2014). "Top public servant hired by PWC".
9. Towell, Noel (9 September 2014). "Former public service head Blair Comley gets new job at NSW Premier and Cabinet". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). Archived from the original on 10 September 2014.
10. Donaldson, David (10 August 2015). "'I walk in with ten more facts than the minister, and I survive’". The Mandarin. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
11. "Search Australian Honours: COMLEY, Blair Robert", itsanhonour.gov.au (Australian Government), archived from the original on 23 August 2014