John Taylor (public servant)

John Casey Taylor AO (2 December 1930 – 14 May 2011) was a senior Australian public servant. He was Secretary of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs from 1981 to 1984.

John Taylor
Secretary of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs
In office
6 May 1981 – 29 March 1984
Commonwealth Auditor-General
In office
1988 – 13 January 1995
Personal details
Born
John Casey Taylor

(1930-12-02)2 December 1930
Melbourne
Died14 May 2011(2011-05-14) (aged 80)
Canberra
NationalityAustralia Australian
Spouse(s)Valerie Booth
(m. 1959–2011; his death)
Alma materUniversity of Melbourne
Australian National University
OccupationPublic servant

Life and career edit

John Taylor was born on 2 December 1930 in Melbourne.[1] He graduated from University of Melbourne with a degree in commerce.[2]

Taylor joined the Australian Public Service in 1952 as a clerk in the Victorian branch of the Postmaster-General's Department.[3]

Between 1974 and 1981, Taylor was a Commissioner on the Public Service Board.[4]

In 1981 he was appointed Secretary of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs.[5] According to Charles Perkins, who succeeded him as Secretary in the department, his departure in 1984 was against his wishes.[6] He was made a special adviser to the Department until June 1984, when he was appointed Australia's Consul-General in New York.[7]

Between 1988 and 1995 he was Commonwealth Auditor-General.[8] As Auditor-General, Taylor said he saw his main achievements as providing a much more efficient and focused service to the Australian Parliament and people, and keeping up with (if not getting ahead of) contemporary professional standards.[9]

Taylor died on 14 May 2011.[10]

Awards edit

In 1990, Taylor was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for his public service.[11]

References edit

  1. ^ "PS worker rose to be auditor". The Canberra Times. Fairfax Media. 16 June 2011. p. 12.
  2. ^ Andrews, Ross (7 May 1981). "New heads to two departments named". The Canberra Times. p. 1.
  3. ^ Hawke, Robert (22 April 1988). "Untitled" (Press release). Archived from the original on 10 May 2014.
  4. ^ "Taylor is new head auditor". The Canberra Times. 23 April 1988. p. 7.
  5. ^ CA 1476: Department of Aboriginal Affairs, Central Office, National Archives of Australia, retrieved 10 May 2014
  6. ^ Perkins, Charles (7 May 1998), Charles Perkins: Full interview transcript
  7. ^ "Diplomatic post". The Canberra Times. 16 June 1984. p. 3.
  8. ^ History of the ANAO, Australian National Audit Office, 2014, archived from the original on 28 March 2014
  9. ^ Henderson, Ian (7 January 1995). "Auditor quits with a blast". The Canberra Times. p. 1.
  10. ^ Gray, Gary (23 August 2011), 110th Anniversary of the Australian National Audit Office, archived from the original on 10 May 2014
  11. ^ "Mr John Casey TAYLOR", It's an Honour, Australian Government, retrieved 8 January 2022

Further reading edit

Government offices
Preceded by Secretary of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs
1981 – 1984
Succeeded by
Preceded by
John Monaghan
Commonwealth Auditor-General
1988 – 1995
Succeeded by
Pat Barrett
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Australian Consul General in New York
1984–1988
Succeeded by