Blair Comley Explained

Blair Comley
Office1:	Secretary of the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency
Term Start1:	2011
Term End1:	March 2013
Office2:	Secretary of the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism
Term Start2:	11 March 2013
Term End2:	18 September 2013
Office3:	Secretary of the Department of Health and Aged Care
Term Start3:	July 2023
Birth Name:	Blair Robert Comley
Occupation:	Public servant
Nationality:	Australian
Alma Mater:	Monash University^[1] Australian National University

Blair Robert Comley is an economist. He is a former Secretary of the New South Wales Government Department of Premier and Cabinet, replaced by a new Secretary upon the election of the then Premier of NSW, The Hon Gladys Berejiklian.^[2]

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.

Comley joined the Department of the Treasury in 1994. For three years, he represented Australia on economic policy at the OECD.^[3] 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.^[4] In September 2013, after the Abbott government was sworn in, new Prime Minister Tony Abbott sacked Comley and two other departmental secretaries.^[5]

Comley was hired by PricewaterhouseCoopers in April 2014 as a Special Adviser in the Canberra Economics and Policy Team.^[6] By September 2014, he had been appointed head of the New South Wales Department of Premier and Cabinet.^[7] In November 2017, the NSW Premier, Hon Gladys Berejiklian MP announced he would be replaced by a new Secretary.^[8]

He was appointed Secretary of the Department of Health and Aged Care in July 2023.^[9]

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.

Notes and References

1. News: Climate head set for long haul. Samantha. Maiden. 22 December 2010. The Australian. News Ltd.
2. Web site: Appointment of new Secretary to DPC. NSW Government. en-AU. 2019-10-10.
3. News: Public service role changes. Ross. Peake. https://web.archive.org/web/20140408151806/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/public-service-role-changes-20130217-2elms.html#ixzz3CnZPRY2X. 8 April 2014. The Canberra Times. Fairfax Media. 18 February 2013.
4. News: Blair Comley to head resource dept. 15 February 2013. News Corp. News.com.au. https://web.archive.org/web/20140823120315/http://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/blair-comley-to-head-resource-dept/story-e6frfku9-1226578914448. 23 August 2014.
5. News: The fine print of payouts. The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 1 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131002221811/http://www.smh.com.au/national/public-service/the-fine-print-of-payouts-20130929-2umb0.html. 2 October 2013.
6. News: Top public servant hired by PWC. Phillip. Coorey. 23 April 2014.
7. News: Former public service head Blair Comley gets new job at NSW Premier and Cabinet. https://web.archive.org/web/20140910075840/http://www.smh.com.au/national/public-service/former-public-service-head-blair-comley-gets-new-job-at-nsw-premier-and-cabinet-20140909-10ei78.html. 10 September 2014. 9 September 2014. The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Noel. Towell.
8. Web site: NSW has a new public service chief with Transport's Tim Reardon to replace Blair Comley as head of Premier and Cabinet. 2017-11-10. The Mandarin. en-US. 2019-10-10.
9. Web site: Blair Comley (EY) appointed incoming national health secretary . Consultancy.com.au . Consultancy.com.au.