New research found the Morrison government has appointed a record number of former politicians to senior diplomatic posts, while the number of women leading Australian missions overseas has skyrocketed.
Key points:
- The number of political appointments to Australia's diplomatic corps has doubled under the Morrison government
- Labor says the government is turning the foreign service into a "Liberal Party retirement home"
- The number of women in top diplomatic posts has effectively doubled in the last few years
The Lowy Institute pulled together a comprehensive list of major diplomatic appointments since 1974, tracking 880 diplomats picked to head Australian missions abroad over almost five decades.
The diplomatic database shows that in 1974, only two of 82 Australian posts were led by politicians.
For more than 40 years after that, the number of political appointees has typically stayed steady at around two to five.
But under Scott Morrison, the federal government has doubled the number of political appointments, from five in 2018 to 10 in 2021.
Former politicians currently lead Australian diplomatic missions in Washington DC, New York, the United Nations, New Delhi, Singapore, London, Dublin, Chicago, Wellington and Auckland.
Supplied: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
)That represents just over 8 per cent of Australia's 121 overseas posts.
Prominent political appointees include former Coalition minister Arthur Sinodinos, who is ambassador to the United States, and former attorney-general George Brandis, who is High Commissioner to London.
Both those positions have regularly been held by political appointees, but some former politicians now also occupy key posts which have previously only been held by career diplomats — including New Delhi (former New South Wales premier Barry O'Farrell) and Singapore (former Tasmanian premier Will Hodgman).
In 2017, then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull also appointed former WA premier Richard Court as Australia's ambassador to Tokyo — the first time that role had been handed to a political appointee.
Labor has attacked some of those decisions, with the Shadow Foreign Minister Penny Wong accusing Scott Morrison of "turning the foreign service into a Liberal Party retirement home" after the government announced Mr Hodgman's appointment.
Lowy Institute research director Alex Oliver said there had been a "striking uptick" in political appointments under the Morrison government.
She agreed there was a risk that the proliferation of political appointees could fuel public cynicism or sideline professional diplomats in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and emphasised the government should send only experienced and capable politicians to key overseas posts.
Australian Story: Belinda Hawkins
)But Ms Oliver said some political appointees — citing Barry O'Farrell as a strong example — had done an excellent job.
And she argued the government might be expanding political appointees beyond London and Washington because it wanted to ensure it had high-profile and politically connected envoys who could amplify Australia's voice in Asian capitals as well.
"There is probably an argument for New Delhi and Tokyo to be political postings given the increasing importance of those countries … and the re-envisaging of our strategic circumstances around the Indo-Pacific," she said.
Representation of women rising rapidly
The database also reveals the number of women in top diplomatic posts has effectively doubled in the last few years.
In 2016, just under 20 per cent of all Australian overseas missions were led by women.
In 2021, that number has increased to 47 of 121 missions, or just under 39 per cent.
Former DFAT secretary Frances Adamson — who was herself Australia's ambassador to China from 2011 to 2015 and who led the department from 2016 until last month — made it a priority to increase the diversity of the diplomatic corps.
Alex Oliver said the "remarkable" increase showed there had been a concerted push from senior officials and the Morrison government to get more women into senior roles, and said Ms Adamson should take "a lot of credit" for the result.
She also pointed out that women are now leading several key Australian posts including in Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, France, Canada and Vietnam.
"That's real progress seeing women in those crucial positions," Ms Oliver said.
"(But) that pipeline is becoming more primed as the complexion of the department has changed."
"In some ways, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is probably ahead of the pack when you compare it to similar organisations of a similar size across most sectors of Australian society."
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiYGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIxLTA3LTA4L2xvd3ktZGZhdC1kYXRhYmFzZS13b21lbi1wb2xpdGljYWwtYXBwb2ludG1lbnRzLzEwMDI3ODQ4MNIBKGh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMDAyNzg0ODA?oc=5
2021-07-08 12:41:00Z
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