Caralee McLiesh
Caralee McLiesh | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 16th Auditor-General for Australia | |
| In office November 2024 – present | |
| Preceded by | Grant Hehir |
| New Zealand Treasury Secretary and Chief Executive | |
| In office September 2019 – August 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Gabriel Makhlouf |
| Succeeded by | Iain Rennie |
| Personal details | |
| Alma mater | Australian National University University of Melbourne |
Caralee McLiesh PSM FCPA is an Australian economist and senior public servant who is currently serving as the auditor-general for the Commonwealth of Australia. She was previously Chief Executive and Secretary to the New Zealand Treasury from 2019 to 2024.[1]
Early life and education
[edit]McLiesh holds a Bachelor of Economics with First Class Honours from the Australian National University and a PhD in Finance from the University of Melbourne. Her thesis investigated the development of a comprehensive theory of takeover activity. She has published several reports and books through the World Bank press and research papers in economic journals.[2] She is a fellow of Certified Practising Accountants (FCPA).[3]
Early career
[edit]McLiesh was an Associate and Senior Associate at the Boston Consulting Group in Melbourne and worked for the International Red Cross in Bosnia, Herzegovina and Botswana as a Development Delegate. Between 2000-2007, McLiesh worked in a number of roles for the World Bank in Washington D.C. including Programme Manager and Senior Economist.[2][4]
McLiesh spent 10 years at the New South Wales Treasury. In this time, she held four different roles: Deputy Secretary, Fiscal and Economic;[5] Deputy Secretary, Agency Budget and Policy; Deputy Secretary Human and Social Services,[6] and; Executive Director, Human and Social Services. Notably her role in the NSW government saw her leading the development of State Budgets covering AUS$80 billion operating expenditure and AUS$350 billion in assets.[7] In 2017 Caralee was awarded a Public Service Medal for outstanding public service to social impact investment policy and reform in New South Wales.[8]
From 2018 to 2019, she was Managing Director at Technical and Further Education, New South Wales.[9] The Managing Director role oversaw a budget of A$1.8 billion and workforce of 17,000 people.[10]
New Zealand Treasury
[edit]McLiesh's appointment as Chief Executive and Secretary to the New Zealand Treasury in September 2019 was well received, with notable economist Eric Crampton noting her academic credibility and experience in advancing New South Wales's social impact agenda.[9][11] She was the first woman to hold the position.[10] Her period of employment included the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2023 transition between Labour and National-led governments.
During her keynote speech at the joint Reserve Bank of New Zealand–Treasury macroeconomic workshop in 2021 McLiesh emphasised that New Zealand's economy was just one of three economies that had maintained a positive GDP during the COVID-19 period. Treasury's management of COVID-19 saw directed and targeted response measures that supported short-term and long-term fiscal policies that minimised disruption and dislocation of the business and workforce relationship.[12] Carrying out exit interviews at the end of her term, McLiesh commented in favour of New Zealand adopting a capital gains tax and a more efficient superannuation scheme.[13]
In July 2024 it was announced McLiesh would not seek a second term as Treasury secretary and that she would return to Canberra.[14] On 1 August 2024 McLiesh's appointment as Auditor-General for Australia was made public.[15] She was succeeded at the Treasury by Iain Rennie.[16]
Auditor-General
[edit]The office of Auditor-General is a ten-year statutory appointment made by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister.[17] McLeish was announced in the role on 1 August 2024 and commenced the position on 4 November.[15]
References
[edit]- ^ Easton, Stephen (25 June 2019). "Top New South Wales public servant picked to lead New Zealand Treasury". The Mandarin. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
- ^ a b "State Services Commission names Caralee McLiesh, currently Managing Director at Technical and Further Education New South Wales, as New Zealand's new Treasury Secretary". interest.co.nz. 25 June 2019.
- ^ Auditor-General, Australian National Audit Office (8 December 2024). "The Auditor-General". Australian National Audit Office. Archived from the original on 1 December 2024. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
- ^ "Africa is performing better than Latin America". The Miami Herald. 10 September 2006. p. 414.
- ^ "Caralee McLiesh". Global Women. 23 November 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
- ^ Schur, Michael (31 October 2009). "Annual Report of the NSW Treasury's Office of Financial Management" (PDF). Annual Report of the NSW Treasury's Office of Financial Management - Organisational Structure. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Join Treasury Chief Executive Caralee McLiesh for breakfast | IoD NZ". The Institute of Directors. 19 January 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
- ^ McLeish, Caralee (12 June 2017). "Australian Honours and Awards: Public Service Medal". Retrieved 8 December 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b "Caralee McLiesh appointed as new Treasury secretary". Stuff. 24 June 2019.
- ^ a b "Business.Scoop » Australian named first woman to lead NZ Treasury". Retrieved 8 December 2024.
- ^ "Three developments that shifted Treasury's view on economy". NZ Herald. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ McLiesh, Caralee (21 June 2021). "The Treasury New Zealand: New challenges for macroeconomic stabilisation policy: The role of fiscal policy" (PDF). The Treasury New Zealand. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Outgoing Treasury boss calls for capital gains tax and superannuation changes". NZ Herald. 9 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
- ^ "Treasury boss Caralee McLiesh won't seek reappointment". NZ Herald. 16 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
- ^ a b "NZ Treasury boss to become Australia's Auditor-General". NZ Herald. 16 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
- ^ "New Treasury boss: Public sector insider Iain Rennie appointed for five years". NZ Herald. 16 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
- ^ Auditor-General, Australian National Audit Office (25 June 2019). "Auditor-General Act 1997 (s 9)". Australian Government: Federal Register of Legislation. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)