Steven Kennedy | |
Office1: | Secretary of the Department of the Treasury |
Term Start1: | 2 September 2019 |
Predecessor1: | Phil Gaetjens |
Office2: | Secretary of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development |
Term Start2: | 7 September 2017 |
Term End2: | 2 September 2019 |
Successor2: | Simon Atkinson |
Birth Name: | Steven Kennedy |
Nationality: | Australian |
Alma Mater: | The Australian National University (PhD, MEc) University of Sydney (BEc) |
Steven Kennedy is an Australian public servant. He was appointed secretary of the Department of the Treasury in September 2019. He previously served as secretary of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development from September 2017 to August 2019.[1] [2] [3] Kennedy helped convince the Morrison government to implement JobKeeper during the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]
In October 2022, it was reported that excluding Executives working at government business enterprises (like Snowy Hydro and Australia Post), Kennedy was one of the highest earning Australian public servants, only behind Glyn Davis (Secretary of Prime Minister and Cabinet) and Angus Campbell (Chief of the Defence Force).[5] When employer superannuation contributions were included, Kennedy was also behind Brendan Murphy (Health), Andrew Metcalfe (Agriculture), Michele Bruniges (Education), and Kathryn Campbell (Social Services).[6]
Kennedy grew up in the town of Murwillumbah, on the NSW north coast.[7] At age 19, Kennedy's first full time job was as a nurse. He later commented that this was an eye- opening experience for him.[8]
He listens to alternative music from the 1980s like Hoodoo Gurus and Sunnyboys, and his favourite film is the Interstellar (film).[9]