New Secretary of Transport for NSW.

[Transtopic]

It has been reported that the new Secretary of Transport for NSW is Josh Murray. He is a director of infrastructure giant, Laing O'Rourke, and was Chief of Staff for former Labor Premier Morris Iemma. Jobs for the boys?

It was under Iemma's premiership that the ill-fated North West Metro along the Victoria Rd corridor was proposed and its later truncated iteration, the Central to Rozelle Metro under Nathan Rees' premiership, in place of the previously proposed CityRail North West Rail Link. It will be interesting to see what direction he takes for Sydney's future rail planning, obviously subject to the Labor government's transport policy.

Whatever the merits of Murray's credentials, it's a shame that Acting Secretary Howard Collins didn't get the job, as I think he would have been eminently suitable for the role. He is "Mr Tubeman" after all, as the former head of the London Underground.

[Bovways]

Whatever the merits of Murray's credentials, it's a shame that Acting Secretary Howard Collins didn't get the job, as I think he would have been eminently suitable for the role. He is "Mr Tubeman" after all, as the former head of the London Underground.

I'm quite happy he didn't. Transport Secretaries seem to have a very short life span, whereas Howard Collins in his current and former roles has survived many changes of administration!

[Transtopic]

Whatever the merits of Murray's credentials, it's a shame that Acting Secretary Howard Collins didn't get the job, as I think he would have been eminently suitable for the role. He is "Mr Tubeman" after all, as the former head of the London Underground.

I'm quite happy he didn't. Transport Secretaries seem to have a very short life span, whereas Howard Collins in his current and former roles has survived many changes of administration!

Yes, good point. I'm not sure about the credentials of new Secretary Josh Murray, being a former Labor staffer, but it's still not a good look. However, I feel that Howard Collins could have been a more pragmatic choice. If he retains his current position, then he could still be a future option if the new appointment doesn't come up to scratch.

[Route548]

Take this with a huge grain of salt as its obviously second-hand info, but I spoke to an ex-colleague of mine at Transport recently and when I asked him how come Mr Collins didnt get it, apparently he (being Mr Collins) mentioned in an all-staff announcement/meeting that he never applied for the role as he wasnt keen on it (my colleague's paraphrased that) and that family reasons also played into it.

If what my colleague is true (even by a small degree) then everyone at Transport kind of wanted Howard to apply for it or at the least, would have been appointed as he was basically the only one of the execs that knew the lay of the land inside and out as he has been there for a long period of time compared to the other Dep Secs.

[Transtopic]

Take this with a huge grain of salt as its obviously second-hand info, but I spoke to an ex-colleague of mine at Transport recently and when I asked him how come Mr Collins didnt get it, apparently he (being Mr Collins) mentioned in an all-staff announcement/meeting that he never applied for the role as he wasnt keen on it (my colleague's paraphrased that) and that family reasons also played into it.

If what my colleague is true (even by a small degree) then everyone at Transport kind of wanted Howard to apply for it or at the least, would have been appointed as he was basically the only one of the execs that knew the lay of the land inside and out as he has been there for a long period of time compared to the other Dep Secs.

Makes sense if that is the case, as I thought he might have been a shoo-in. If the position comes up again in the future, I hope he has a change of heart. With his experience, he would be more qualified than anyone to take on the role.

[tonyp]

Labor Party appointments of department heads has been a common practice for generations. Like union bosses, they largely eventually move on to politics when they find a safe seat for them. The biggest danger is a purge of talent in the agency while they're there.

[Nat]

Labor Party appointments of department heads has been a common practice for generations. Like union bosses, they largely eventually move on to politics when they find a safe seat for them. The biggest danger is a purge of talent in the agency while they're there.

Exactly the same behaviour as the liberal party, except the talent purge is far worse, with corporate 'consultant' firms the big winners.

[tonyp]

Exactly the same behaviour as the liberal party, except the talent purge is far worse, with corporate 'consultant' firms the big winners.

Departments can't be run by contractors. Coalition appointments aren't specifically groomed for politics and tend to be professionals.

[Linto63]

Departments shouldn't be run by contractors, doesn't mean they aren't. The recent revelations on how totally reliant governments are on the PwCs of this world, with successive governments having contracted out policy formulation that should be done in house, bears testament to that.

[Nat]

Exactly the same behaviour as the liberal party, except the talent purge is far worse, with corporate 'consultant' firms the big winners.

Departments can't be run by contractors. Coalition appointments aren't specifically groomed for politics and tend to be professionals.

Like the people at pwc etc.....

Public departments should be fully run and staffed by government employees. This is how you build and maintain knowledge over decades.

[tonyp]

Public departments should be fully run and staffed by government employees. This is how you build and maintain knowledge over decades.

Any idea how frustrating it is working as a professional in a government agency? If you had the experience of this, you wouldn't wonder why so many bail out into consultancy work! So in the end, after poor-quality managements have driven out all of their professionals, the only ones available have to be engaged through contracting.

[Transtopic]

NSW Opposition challenges Jo Haylen's appointment of former Labor staffer Josh Murray to position of Secretary of Transport for NSW, after the Minister's office intervened to add him to the shortlist of candidates. I'm not aware of his expertise for the role, other than previously having been Chief of Staff for former Labor Premier Morris Iemma and a director of Laing O'Rourke, but it does seem a bit sus to me

The other recommended candidate was Benedicte Colin, the former CEO of the TAHE, who had actually resigned from that position earlier, probably in anticipation that the new Labor government was going to wind it up. There's been no action on that front yet.

Route 548's earlier post suggesting that Howard Collins didn't apply for the role is probably correct, as the Secretary's position is too political under current legislation and lacks any guarantee of tenure, being at the Minister's discretion. He is probably more comfortable in his role as Chief Operating Officer (COO) and he seems to have settled well with his family in Australia since migrating from the UK.

[boronia]

Howard Collins, who was acting Transport for NSW secretary, has been appointed to a newly created role of "coordinator-general". Collins, a former Sydney Trains chief executive, will have oversight of buses, ferries, and light rail services, and report directly to Murray.

[Transtopic]

Howard Collins, who was acting Transport for NSW secretary, has been appointed to a newly created role of "coordinator-general". Collins, a former Sydney Trains chief executive, will have oversight of buses, ferries, and light rail services, and report directly to Murray.

Why not also trains? His previous role was Chief Operating Officer for Transport for NSW, which presumably included trains, for which he is admirably suited, having been the CEO of the London Underground and Sydney Trains. Is his new role a downgrade?

I think a more worthy role would be to reinstate Ron Christe's former position as Coordinator-General of Rail, encompassing all rail services including metro.

[boronia]

These are the three modes operated by private contracts.
Looks like an attempt to have someone “wielding a stick” over them?

[tonyp]

BREAKING
NSW’s new Transport for NSW secretary ‘didn’t have experience required’, recruiter warned

The recruitment company hired to find NSW’s new transport boss warned the man hand-picked for the role didn’t have the experience required, according to bombshell government documents tabled to parliament.

James O'Doherty
and
Lachlan Leeming

Daily Telegraph, August 16, 2023 - 1:18PM

The recruitment company hired to find the state’s new transport boss warned that the man ultimately hand-picked for the role did not have the experience required, and that appointing him would be a “significant risk,” according to bombshell government documents tabled to parliament.

The documents reveal that Josh Murray, who was chosen to run the state’s Transport department last month, was the second-ranked candidate for the role, as determined by an independent evaluation panel.

Mr Murray was only added to the shortlist after Transport Minister Jo Haylen’s chief of staff pushed for him to be interviewed.

Documents released to parliament on Wednesday have revealed that at one stage during the recruitment process, headhunting firm NGS Global initially warned that appointing Mr Murray would be a “significant risk” because he did not have “large-scale strategic, operational or people leadership experience”.

The assessment was attached in a letter to Ms Haylen asking for her to pick between two potential candidates at the end of the evaluation process.

Ms Haylen has previously told 2GB said that her office had pushed for Mr Murray to be on the shortlist of candidates to become the new Transport for NSW Secretary.

In a progress report emailed to Ms Haylen’s chief of staff Scott Gartrell in May, Mr Murray was listed as a candidate that had “some relevance” or was “under review”.

The progress report was emailed to Mr Gartrell by a DPC staffer involved in the selection process, who asked for “thoughts/feedback”.

In reply, Mr Gartrell said the short list was “pretty underwhelming”. He recommended the recruiters “persist” with one potential candidate, whose name has been redacted from the documents. “Josh Murray should be interviewed as well,” he said.

The warning that Mr Murray’s appointment would be a “significant risk” is understood to have been made by NGS Global before he had been interviewed by a three-person evaluation panel made up of Acting Department of Premier and Cabinet secretary Peter Duncan, federal infrastructure secretary Jim Betts, and public service commissioner Kathrina Lo.

The panel ultimately put forward Mr Murray’s name, with another candidate, for the role, according to the documents.

The panel found Mr Murray to be “very suitable” for the job, but ranked him behind another candidate who was considered “highly suitable”.

The name of the “highly suitable” candidate has been redacted from documents provided to parliament.

However, top Transport for NSW bureaucrat Howard Collins had also applied for the job.

Acting Department of Premier and Cabinet Secretary Peter Duncan put forward the two names to Ms Haylen and asked for her views on who the government should appoint to the top transport job.

Ms Haylen said Mr Murray was a better fit for her and the department.

Two days later, she told Mr Duncan that she and her chief of staff had met with the two candidates, who she described as “both … highly capable leaders”, the documents show.

“However Josh is a better fit for the department and for me at this time and is therefore my preferred candidate,” she said.

The documents layout Mr Murray’s ascension to the transport secretary role, outlining how he started his career in journalism with multiple Queensland radio networks.

In 2001 he joined the NSW Government as a ministerial advisor, before eventually being appointed in 2006 as deputy chief of staff to then-Labor Premier Morris Iemma, before being promoted to chief of staff.

He made the move to the private sector in 2008 with Laing O’Rourke, starting as a strategic business development executive, eventually moving up to the role of group director of people for the UK and Australia, a position he held while applying for the transport secretary role.

Analysis by the government’s recruitment firm NGS Global noted “that the secretary role was considerably more complex than Josh’s previous roles” but that he was “seen as a good decision-maker who had taken difficult decisions early in the initial stages of the Covid pandemic …(which) enabled the business to restart more quickly than competitors”.

It’s understood that Mr Murray beat out experienced transport bureaucrat Howard Collins, who has been the acting secretary of Transport NSW since April.

His CV included stints as the chief operations officer for Transport NSW, which included responsibility for the state’s rail, bus, light rail and ferry services.

He’d previously held the same role at the London Underground, as part of more than three decades working on the city’s transport network.

[boronia]

Good match for a minister with similar qualifications.

[Transtopic]

Good match for a minister with similar qualifications.

Yes, couldn't agree more. Jo Haylen is becoming a liability in the Transport portfolio and I don't think she's got a clue. How Minns could appoint her to such an important ministerial role beggars belief. What was she thinking in appointing an obvious political insider, who doesn't appear to have the qualifications for the role? If in fact Howard Collins did apply, then how could he possibly be overlooked?

[tonyp]

Benedicte Colin was the top choice who was displaced.

UPDATED

NSW’s new Transport for NSW secretary ‘didn’t have experience required’, recruiter warned

Newly appointed NSW Transport boss Josh Murray has defended his appointment to the new role despite government documents labelling him as a ‘significant risk’ to the industry if chosen.


James O'Doherty and Lachlan Leeming

4 min read
Daily Telegraph, August 17, 2023 - 10:06AM

Newly appointed NSW Transport boss Josh Murray has defended his appointment to the new role despite government documents labelling him as a ‘significant risk’ to the industry if chosen.

Mr Murray admitted the role was shared with him “by a number of people” but has assured that all the correct procedures were followed prior to his appointment.

“It was shared with me by a large number of people when it went live because of my experience in the transport sector,” he told Ben Fordham on 2GB on Thursday.

“I’m not going to go through that because it was a range of people but I think some of that has been captured in the papers.

“It was shared with me after it had gone public and everyone had access to it, so I can only assume that it was given to a number of people.”

When asked if the Chief of Staff from Jo Haylen’s office shared the job with him, Murray said, “Yes that’s correct.”

“I received an update from the chief of staff saying that the job was live,” he said.

“I can’t commit on that process, the work that we’ve done here, I’ve gone through all of those steps.

“When any recruitment process happens, we get to a point where people make a selection on who’s going to go into that role.”

It comes after the recruitment company hired to find NSW’s new transport boss warned that Mr Murray did not have the experience required and that appointing him would be a “significant risk”, according to bombshell government documents tabled to parliament.

The documents reveal that Transport Minister Jo Haylen chose Mr Murray to be her department’s secretary despite an independent evaluation panel finding that he was not the best candidate for the $588,250-per-year job.

The Daily Telegraph can also reveal that Mr Murray, a former Labor staffer turned Laing O’Rourke executive, spoke to Ms Haylen’s chief-of-staff Scott Gartrell about the recruitment process before he got the job of Transport for NSW secretary.

“Thanks for checking in. I had an email from NGS Global last Friday confirming they had all my materials,” Mr Murray texted Mr Gartrell on May 23.

Mr Murray had applied four days earlier.

Ms Haylen is under increasing pressure from the Coalition to defend the appointment, which came after a “merit-based selection process” was put in place.

The Coalition is set to call for a parliamentary inquiry to probe whether Ms Haylen or her office improperly intervened in the selection process to ensure Mr Murray got the job.

Mr Murray was only added to the shortlist of candidates considered by an independent panel after Ms Haylen’s chief-of-staff Mr Gartrell pushed for him to be interviewed.

According to a progress report from recruitment firm NGS Global, Mr Murray did not have the “level of operational complexity required for this role”.

Despite that, Mr Gartrell wanted him to progress to the next recruitment stage.

He said the shortlist of candidates was “pretty underwhelming … (and) Josh Murray should be interviewed as well”.

New Transport for NSW secretary Josh Murray.

Top transport exec Howard Collins was an unsuccessful candidate for the role.

After he was interviewed, NGS Global advised that appointing Mr Murray would likely be a “significant risk” because he did not have “large-scale strategic, operational or people leadership experience”.

The assessment was attached in an email to Ms Haylen asking for her to pick between two potential candidates at the end of the evaluation process.

The top-ranked candidate was senior Transport executive Benedicte Colin, who was deemed “highly suitable”.

Mr Murray was ranked second, found to be “very suitable”, according to the documents.

Mr Murray was also appointed before completing the required background checks.

NGS Global never completed the “pre-employment checks” which included checking any private interests. The process was only completed after Mr Murray had been appointed.

Transport bureaucrat Howard Collins, who until Monday was acting as the department’s secretary, also applied.

A spokesman for Ms Haylen said her office “worked with DPC (Department of Premier and Cabinet) as they oversaw the Transport secretary recruitment process”.

“The minister has always acted honestly and in accordance with the public interest,” he said.

Ms Haylen added: “I recommended the appointment of a secretary with years of experience at the top of Laing O’Rourke … Josh Murray has the experience and capability necessary to help me fix the mess left by the former government.”

The documents also lay out Mr Murray’s ascension to the transport secretary role, outlining how he started his career in journalism with multiple Queensland radio networks.

In 2001 he joined the NSW government as a ministerial adviser, before eventually being appointed in 2006 as deputy chief of staff to then-Labor Premier Morris Iemma, before being promoted to chief of staff.

He made the move to the private sector in 2008 with Laing O’Rourke, starting as a strategic business development executive, eventually moving up to the role of group director of people for the UK and Australia, a position he held while applying for the transport secretary role.

Analysis by the government’s recruitment firm NGS Global noted “that the secretary role was considerably more complex than Josh’s previous roles” but that he was “seen as a good decision-maker who had taken difficult decisions early in the initial stages of the Covid pandemic …(which) enabled the business to restart more quickly than competitors”.

It’s understood that Mr Murray beat out experienced transport bureaucrat Howard Collins, who has been the acting secretary of Transport NSW since April.

His CV included stints as the chief operations officer for Transport NSW, which included responsibility for the state’s rail, bus, light rail and ferry services.

He’d previously held the same role at the London Underground, as part of more than three decades working on the city’s transport network.

[eddy]

Perhaps Sydney trains have shot themselves in the foot with all the strikes and rail maintenance and buses will become real competitors especially if there is more room for bikes etc.

[Swift]

It smells of politically motivated favoritism.
NSW is corrupt. Just because it's run by people with simple to pronounce Anglo names doesn't mean it's any better than a crackpot second or third world regime.

[tonyp]

Perhaps Sydney trains have shot themselves in the foot with all the strikes and rail maintenance and buses will become real competitors especially if there is more room for bikes etc.

Capacity of bus: 60 to 110.
Capacity of train: About 1,200

Meanwhile:

UPDATED

NSW’s new Transport for NSW secretary ‘didn’t have experience required’, recruiter warned

The state’s Transport Minister has denied lying about how Transport for NSW’s new boss was recruited, in an extraordinary escalation of the scandal surrounding ex-Labor staffer Josh Murray’s appointment to the role.


James O'Doherty and Lachlan Leeming

Daily Telegraph, August 17, 2023 - 2:10PM

Transport Minister Jo Haylen has denied an accusation that she lied about how the NSW transport boss was recruited, in an extraordinary escalation of the scandal surrounding former Labor staffer Josh Murray’s appointment to the role.


Ms Haylen on Thursday claimed her chief of staff Scott Gartrell “did not tell the independent panel who to interview”.

However, documents tabled to parliament on Wednesday revealed Mr Gartrell said “Josh Murray should be interviewed” for the $588,250 per-year job as Transport for NSW secretary.

Mr Gartrell said an initial shortlist of candidates was “pretty underwhelming … Josh Murray should be interviewed as well”.

That feedback was in response to a progress report from headhunting firm NGS Global, which said Mr Murray did not have the “level of operational complexity required for this role”.

He was listed as a candidate that had “some relevance” or was “under review”.

Later, NGS Global warned Mr Murray’s appointment would be a “significant risk”.

Ms Haylen said she “rejects” that assessment.

Ms Haylen said Mr Gartrell “was asked for input … on an initial list of candidates”.

“He did not tell the independent panel who to interview,” she said.

Liberal Roads spokeswoman Natalie Ward on Thursday accused Ms Haylen of telling a “blatant lie”.

“Every time the Minister opens her mouth the story changes,” Ms Ward said.

“Her statement today that her chief of staff did not tell the panel who to interview is a blatant lie.”

Pressed on whether she wanted to correct that statement, Ms Haylen said her chief of staff was “making a suggestion” on who should be interviewed for the job but “it was not up to him”.

Mr Gartrell pushed for Mr Murray to be interviewed after sending him the job listing after it was advertised.

The Daily Telegraph revealed that the two men exchanged texts about the job during the recruitment process, including after Mr Murray applied for the job.

Mr Murray on Thursday also called into question the work of the headhunting firm, telling 2GB that NGS Global thought he was applying for a different job, then got his name wrong.

“So I was concerned, having worked in high level executive recruitment around the world,” he said.

[boronia]

And from SMH:
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/min ... 5dx9k.html

Jo Haylen’s chief of staff sent a copy of the job advertisement for the state’s new transport secretary to Josh Murray before he applied for the role, prompting demands for the government to release any correspondence between the two men.

Haylen, the NSW Transport Minister who hand-picked Murray for the role, has come under intense criticism over the appointment because of his links to the Labor Party. On Thursday the Coalition demanded she release all messages between her chief of staff and the new transport boss.
NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen has continued to defend the appointment of Morris Iemma’s former chief of staff, Josh Murray, as the state’s new transport boss.

The demand followed an interview with 2GB’s Ben Fordham where Murray confirmed he had been sent the job advertisement by “a range of people” including Haylen’s chief of staff Scott Gartrell.

“I received an update from the chief of staff saying that that job was live,” Murray said.

Haylen defended Gartrell, saying he had sent the ad to other potential candidates “as is appropriate”. She said it was part of “a process to find the best candidate”.

“I think people would know if you’re in the market to try and find the best candidates that people would send the advertisement to people that they think are qualified and experienced,” she said at a press conference on Thursday.

“[It was] part of the process to find the best candidate.”
Minister for Transport Jo Haylen

Murray, a former chief of staff for Labor Premier Morris Iemma who the minister has conceded had “absolutely” been a member of the Party in the past, was given the job in July. Haylen has defended the decision to appoint him, pointing to his experience with construction giant Laing O’Rourke.

But the Coalition has accused Labor of a “jobs for the boys” appointment, and have demanded Labor release text messages between Murray and Gartrell.

Documents released through parliament on Wednesday revealed the head-hunting firm hired to fill the role warned Murray did not have enough experience for the job. However, those documents only included text exchanges between the two men from July 10, after Murray had been given the job.

Shadow Roads Minister Natalie Ward demanded that the government release previous text messages between the two men, accusing Haylen’s office of withholding details of the appointment.

“Why does it take a radio interview for this crucial information to come to hand [and] why is the Minister continuing to withhold information?” she said.

The opposition is considering pushing for a parliamentary inquiry into the appointment

However, Greens MP Cate Faehrmann, who heads the powerful Public Accountability Committee, said Haylen had shown “extremely poor judgement”. However, she was yet to be convinced of the need for an inquiry.

Updated
State Parliament
Transport secretary hand-picked for job by minister was not recommended for role

The documents released on Wednesday reveal that Murray was not initially recommended for an interview for the role by the recruitment firm hired to find candidates for the job, but that it was Gartrell who intervened to have him placed on the shortlist.

In an email on May 30 he wrote to a Department of Premier and Cabinet official calling the list of candidates for the job “underwhelming” and saying Murray “should be interviewed as well”.

But despite that, at a press conference on Thursday Haylen argued Gartrell had not directed DPC to interview Murray, saying he had made “a suggestion”.

“My chief of staff did not tell the independent panel who to interview. He was asked for input by [Secretary of the NSW Department of Premier] Peter Duncan on an initial list of candidates,” she said.

“He was asked for feedback on a list of candidates. He suggested that Josh Murray be interviewed. It was not up to him. Ultimately, the panel decided who would be interviewed.”

Haylen’s office has been contacted for comment.

[Transtopic]

If Howard Collions did apply for the role, how could he possibly considered to be "underwhelming"? He'd run rings around the other applicants with his experience and having been involved within the Transport for NSW bureaucracy almost from its inception. This stinks. Time for Minns to show a bit of guts and dump both Haylen and Murray.

[Swift]

But he didn't work for the Lsbor party on his resumé.
Plus Haylen is a former Willoughby Girls High student. Having done school runs from there when she was a student, I wouldn't have wanted any of them as a future minister.