David Borthwick (public servant)

David William Borthwick AO, PSM (born 26 December 1950) is a former senior Australian public servant and policymaker.

David Borthwick AO, PSM
Secretary of the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
In office 3 December 2007 – January 2009
Secretary of the Department of the Environment and Water Resources
In office 30 January 2007 – 3 December 2007
Secretary of the Department of the Environment and Heritage
In office February 2004 – 30 January 2007
Personal details
Born	David William Borthwick 26 December 1950 Ferntree Gully, Victoria, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Alma mater	Monash University (BEc)
Occupation	Public servant

Background and early life

Borthwick was the son of Bill Borthwick, former Liberal Deputy Premier of Victoria.[1] Borthwick attended Monash University, gaining a Bachelor of Economics with First Class Honours.[2][3]

Career

Borthwick moved to Canberra in 1973 to join the Australian Public Service as a graduate in the Department of the Treasury.[4]

He was appointed Secretary of the Department of the Environment and Heritage in 2004, remaining the Environment Secretary through two departmental transitions, first to the Department of the Environment and Water Resources and later to the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts.[5][6]

Borthwick retired from the public service in January 2009.[7] He delivered his valedictory speech at the Australian War Memorial, telling his audience that public service agencies of the day were "so flat out, so stretched" they had "scant capacity to invest in serious thinking."[8]

Awards

In June 2009 Borthwick was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for service to the development of environmental policy, particularly in relation to climate change, water allocation, emissions trading and heritage issues.[9]

Borthwick had previously been awarded a Public Service Medal in June 2002.[10]

Notes

1. Malone 2006, p. 99.
2. Borthwick 2009, p. 95.
3. Howard, John (30 January 2004). "Appointment of Departmental Secretaries" (Press release). Archived from the original on 19 January 2014.
4. Borthwick 2009, p. 95–96.
5. CA 9160: Department of the Environment and Water Resources, Central Office, National Archives of Australia, retrieved 19 January 2014
6. CA 8614: Department of the Environment and Heritage, Central Office, National Archives of Australia, retrieved 19 January 2014
7. Rudd, Kevin (24 December 2008). "Appointment of Departmental Secretaries" (Press release). Archived from the original on 19 January 2014.
8. Mannheim, Markus (11 March 2009). "Public service staff 'too flat out' to focus on the nation's needs". The Canberra Times. Fairfax Media. p. 7.
9. Queen's Birthday Honours 2009, Monash University, archived from the original on 5 October 2013
10. David Borthwick, archived from the original on 19 January 2014, retrieved 18 July 2019

References and further reading

• Borthwick, David (16 March 2009), As if for a thousand years—the challenges ahead for the APS (PDF), pp. 95–106, archived from the original (PDF) on 19 January 2014
• Malone, Paul (2006). "Chapter 15: Environmental Angler – David Borthwick, Department of Environment and Heritage". Australian department heads under Howard : career paths and practice (PDF). Canberra, Australia: The Australian National University. pp. 99–106. ISBN 1-920942-83-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 November 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)