Senior Associate

Level 15
127 Creek Street
GPO Box 32
BRISBANE QLD 4000

Ph: +61 7 3009 8700
Fax: +61 7 3009 8799

 

The Hon Dr Gary Johns is a senior consultant with ACIL Tasman. He is a public policy specialist. He was elected as the Member for Petrie in The House of Representatives 1987-1996, and served in various portfolios: Special Minister of State, Assistant Minister for Industrial Relations, Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister. In 2002-2004, he served as an Associate Commissioner of the Productivity Commission, on the inquiry into ‘National Workers’ Compensation and Occupational Health and Safety Frameworks’. He is very experienced in the processes of public inquiry and consultation, believing in transparency, courtesy and rigour.

Gary initiated the sale of the Commonwealth Serum Laboratory, floated successfully as CSL Ltd in 1994. He initiated a review of the Public Service Act, with a view to creating a more easily managed workforce, at the same time protecting important processes of appeal and merit. He was involved in changes to the prudential regulation of superannuation during the superannuation guarantee reforms. He was directly involved in the Enterprise Bargaining process within and outside of the public sector. In addition, he has experience in negotiations between the Commonwealth and the states and the private sector on issues as varied as native title regimes, construction and housing industry reform, and the registration of hazardous chemicals. For the Department of Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs, he was part of the ‘Review of The Immigration Advice and Application Assistance Scheme’ the ‘Review of Illegal Workers in Australia’, and was a member of the Australian Citizenship Council.

He was Senior Fellow Institute of Public Affairs from 1997 until 2006, and has written extensively and consulted on Aboriginal policy (is President of the Bennelong Society), on Corporate Social Responsibility, and the charity and NGO sector. He is a member of the editorial committee of Agenda (ANU), and has published widely in the academic literature on political parties and public policy, and is a regular contributor to the opinion pages of Australia’s leading newspapers.

In 2003, Gary was awarded the Centenary Medal for ‘service to Australian society through the advancement of economic, social and political issues.’ In 2002, he won the inaugural Fulbright Professional Award in Australian-United States Alliance Studies, and served at Georgetown University Washington DC. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy (Political Science) University of Queensland, a Master of Arts (Geography) Monash University, and a Bachelor of Economics Monash University.