Death of Former Australian Diplomat Peter Henderson

ministry of tokyo AUSTRALIA http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/public-service/canberra-loses-its-scourge-of-public-service-yes-men-20160926-grp6hj.html Canberra loses its scourge of public service 'yes men' Noel Towell Former Foreign Affairs Department boss Peter Henderson, who warned 20 years ago of the rise of the public service "yes men", has died in Canberra aged 87. Michael Ball, an influential Chairman of the National Capital Authority in the 2000s, also died on the weekend [IMAGE] Heather and Peter Henderson stand with her parents, Dame Pattie and Sir Robert Menzies, in a London garden in the late 1960s, soon after Sir Robert's retirement as Prime Minister. Mr Henderson, who was married to Sir Robert Menzies' daughter Heather, had an eventful career which included being sacked by Bill Hayden as departmental secretary and successfully suing another Labor figure who used parliamentary privilege to launch an attack on the former DFAT secretary's integrity. He led the then Department of Foreign Affairs from 1979 until 1984. The career diplomat, who led the then Department of Foreign Affairs from 1979 until 1984, was born into a Goulburn grazing family and served in a variety of foreign postings including Washington, Jakarta, Geneva, London and was head of mission in Manila in the days of husband-and-wife dictatorship duo Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos. He disliked imperial honours and radically changed staffing arrangements at Australia House in London to stop British-based staff looking at Australian-Eyes-Only material, and resisted pressure to make blatantly political appointments to plum diplomatic roles. In his memoir, Privilege and Pleasure, Mr Henderson recounts how he baulked at one such attempt by then Labour Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Hayden. "Neither Street, nor Peacock, nor Hayden until this time, ever made an appointment as unacceptable on professional grounds as this one," Mr Henderson said later. When Hayden sacked Mr Henderson from his secretary's role in May 1984 in what is remembered as a spiteful effort, the minister insisted that it had nothing to do with Mr Henderson's connection to the Menzies family. Mr Henderson never believed him. After his "involuntary retirement," from the public service in 1985 Mr Henderson kept up an informed commentary on the state of the Commonwealth administration. In 1987, he offered a prescient warning of "an increasing tendency towards the politicisation of senior ranks in the Commonwealth Public Service". "If preferment is increasingly given to sycophants and yes men, and if people are increasingly pushed aside or discarded because they are known or suspected not to subscribe to the views of their political masters, the professionalism and quality of the public service as a whole can only suffer." Mr and Mrs Henderson had four daughters, 11 grandchildren and three great grandchildren. Mr Ball, a real-life Madison Avenue "mad man", who later devoted his life to public service, served as the National Capital Authority's chairman from 2006 until 2008 when he quit in protest to the newly elected Rudd government slashing the authority's staff and funding. Mr Ball described the cuts as barbaric and lamented the loss of "Camelot", his name for an organisation with what he described as talented staff, money and vision for the national capital. The former ad-man won widespread respect for his passion and advocacy for Canberra. He died in Melbourne at the weekend, aged 80, after a long illness. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/public-service/canberra-loses-its-scourge-of-public-service-yes-men-20160926-grp6hj.html Edit From Trove Scan 31 January 1985 The Canberra Times http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/122481121 Former FA head condemns 'dumping' The former Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Mr Peter Henderson, criticised successive Australian governments yesterday for using the diplomatic service as a dumping ground. And he said the view expressed last week by Australia's Ambassador to UNESCO, Mr Gough Whitlam, that the US diplomatic service was handicapped by amateurs, applied also in some cases to Australia. "The overseas service has been used as a depository for years by governments of all persuasions for people they want to get rid of in Canberra, and that I object to very much," Mr Henderson said. Mr Henderson, who was with Foreign Affairs for 33 years, five of them as permanent head, left the Public Service last week after being offered the choice of a demotion or retirement. He said he had been disappointed not to be offered the post of Ambassador to Washington, the most senior diplomatic posting. "It wasn't as if I was being unduly presumptuous," he said. "The three people who were head of Foreign Affairs before me went to Washington. I don't think it was out of order for me to think I might be offered the same job." The present Ambassador, Fraser Government appointee Sir Robert Cotton, is due to return soon, and it is believed he will be succeeded by a career diplomat. Likely prospects are understood to include the outgoing Ambassador to Indonesia, Mr Rawdon Dalrymple, the Ambassador to the United Nations, Mr Richard Woolcott, the head of the department's executive, policy planning, defence and nuclear division, MrDuncan Campbell, and the deputy secretary, Mr Geoff Miller. All four were considered candidates to succeed Mr Henderson as Secretary when he stood aside in September, but the job went to an academic, Professor Stuart Harris. Mr Henderson, 56, son-in-law of the late Sir Robert Menzies, finally left the Public Service last Friday, the day before he was named a Companion in the general division of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day honours list. Under the Government's recently introduced "involuntary retirement" regulations, he received $52,700 - the equivalent of two months' pay for each year of service until he turns 60 - in addition to the usual superannuation benefits and pay in lieu of accrued leave. Mr Henderson said yesterday that he had been faced with a choice of accepting an overseas posting, which he declined to name but which he said he had not been particularly attracted to, or staying on and working in Australia. "I chose not to go to the post that was offered to me and, as to working in Australia, the choice lay between going down to the senior executive service or leaving as an involuntary retiree with $52,000," he said."I would prefer to leave and try to do something else than go and work in some lesser capacity in the Public Service." Government sources maintained yesterday that the normal processes for department heads were followed when Mr Henderson was placed on the unattached list. He had been offered a number of senior diplomatic appointments, including Ottawa, which would have enabled him also to retain the salary of a department head, but had declined. The sources said the situation was not a question of Mr Henderson choosing either involuntary retirement or downgrading. Being over the age of 55, he could have chosen to retire in the usual way, but the involuntary retirement provisions carried with them additional benefits and provided a more advantageous way to go. The fact that previous heads of Foreign Affairs had been appointed to Washington did not mean that all subsequent heads were entitled to that appointment. Such appointments were a decision for the Government. Mr Henderson chose not to comment yesterday on the present direction of Australian foreign policy saying he did not think it right "for public servants who have been right in the thick of it to make comments on Wednesday when they were on the payroll last Friday". But he recalled the remarks by Mr Whitlam to the effect that the American diplomatic service was handicapped by having amateurs at the top. Asked if he believed the same was true of the Australian service, Mr Henderson said, "I think there are cases when that has happened with us - yes. He would say no more about any future job save that some people had talked to him but he had made no commitment of any kind. I wouldn't feel free to comment until some further arrangements have been made." he said. http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/122481121 In Brief Peter Graham Faithfull Henderson retired Australian senior public servant 1979 – 1984 Secretary Dept. of Foreign Affairs & Trade (DFAT) b. 1928 in Goulburn  - to grazing family d. Sept. 2016 educated University of Oxford married daughter of PM Robert Mezies 1956 - in Jakarta 1984 May 1984, appears to have Henderson considered himself 'sacked' by Bill Hayden as departmental secretary. Henderson was offered choice of demotion or retirement. DENOUNCED Aust. govt for using diplomatic service as: "depository... for people they want to get rid of in Canberra" reportedly pressured by Labour Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Hayden (Labor Party) to make political appointments to "plum diplomatic roles" Hayden Min. Foreign Affairs & Trade under PM Bob Hawke 1983-1988 (earlier, Treasurer under Gough Whitlam 1975) Henderson: successfully sued another Labor figure re use of parliamentary privilege "to launch an attack on the former DFAT secretary's integrity" [1] Memoir:  'Privilege and Pleasure' Quotes: 1987: "an increasing tendency towards the politicisation of senior ranks in the Commonwealth Public Service" [1] "If preferment is increasingly given to sycophants and yes men, and if people are increasingly pushed aside or discarded because they are known or suspected not to subscribe to the views of their political masters, the professionalism and quality of the public service as a whole can only suffer." [1] Awards 1985, Henderson - Companion of the Order of Australia (distinguished public service) [2] [1] http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/public-service/canberra-loses-its-scourge-of-public-service-yes-men-20160926-grp6hj.html [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Henderson_%28Australian_public_servant%29 National Capital Authority (NCA) body of Aust. govt. established to manage Commonwealth's interest in planning & development of Canberra as capital various bodies preceding NCA listed ~ commenced:  1921 ~ 1930- 1938 no body in existence ~ predecessor:  FCAC oversaw construction of Canberra from 1921 - 1924 ~ cttee chaired by Aust. architect John Sulman ~ much development 1925–1930 (FCC) ~ Chief Commissioner John Butters ~ to prepare Canberra for arrival of 1,100 civil servants & families ~ completion of following 1925-1927:     - Parliament House     - The Lodge     - Albert Hall     - Institute of Anatomy     - Aust. School of Forestry     - Observatory, Mt Stromlo     - construction of Sydney & Melb. commercial buildings, + residential development ~ disabled 1930:  after start of Great Depression 1929 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Capital_Authority Quite like ...  House at 11 La Perouse Street, Griffith, Canberra, ACT built in the 1920s illustrates architectural style of the Federal Capital Commission Calthorpes' House built 1927, ACT built in 1927 by Harry Calthorpe, stock and station agent Spanish Mission style former Canberra High School (now the ANU School of Art) COMMENT Looks like there was a massive post WWI development push in Australia, that was then put on pause by the Depression and what I assumed is preparation for WWII, between: 1930-1938. As there is a body during the WWII period and thereafter: 1938–1957 (National Capital Planning and Development Committee (NCPDC)), it looks as though the Australians were confident of a US-Anglo allied capitalists win. With the massive US-Anglo capitalist forces marshalled and sent to invade European soil (comprising an eventual 1 million allied foreigners on the Western European front in WWII), I guess there was perhaps reason to be confident. The buildings I like best are circa the 1920s and 1930s. Interesting comment about the state of the American capitalist diplomatic service of the day.  Obama's known for assigning political postings to his bundlers (electoral campaign fund-raisers), so at least part of the US diplomatic service must still be rather lame.