Economy
Don Challen: $1900 a day man, retirement and TT
SUE NEALES Mercury
July 02, 2010 03:15pm
UPDATE: TREASURY’S chief bureaucrat, Don Challen, has quit his job – but will be paid a $1900-a-day ‘retainer’.
Treasury chief bureaucrat, Mr Challen, 60, told his staff this morning he would retire in mid October to move to a “new phase”‘ of his working life, taking up board positions and consultancies.
The Bartlett government has sealed a deal with Mr Challen in his new life as a self-employed consultant “to ensure access to his experience and skills.”
Under the taxpayer-funded ongoing “retainer” contract, Mr Challen will be paid a whopping $1900 a day.
A Government spokesman said the $1900 a day was a “standard rate for his sort of work.”
He will also be paid additional fees – usually between $30,000-$55,000 a year – for each of any government board directorships he takes on.
The Government revealed this afternoon that Mr Challen’s contract would last for three years.
But the spokesman said it was anticipated the retiring Treasury boss would only earn between $30,000 to $50,000 a year through the $1900/day consultancy fee deal.
Indeed after the first year, the Government anticipates Mr Challen will be sitting on enough boards with accompanying director’s fees, not to require extra consultancy payments.
The spokesman described the arrangement as more akin to “transition-to-retirement” assistance for Mr Challen, in light of the impeccable service he has given the government and the need to retain his unique knowledge of the state’s finances.
Mr Challen is now paid more than $400,000 a year as Treasury departmental chief.
Mr Challen told premier David Bartlett and Treasurer Michael Aird several weeks ago – before the June State Budget was delivered – that it would be his last contribution to balancing the state’s accounts.
But Mr Challen gave no hint as he sat beside the Treasurer at Estimates hearings in parliament this week, that he was about to resign.
But … this was rather different to the Barry Prismall (Examiner) report a couple of months ago …
Challen up for the challenge
BY BARRY PRISMALL
05 Apr 2010 08:36 AM
STATE Treasury chief and powerful bureaucrat Don Challen is not going anywhere in the face of a new government.
He says he’s not retiring anytime soon, and just five months ago had his lucrative $300,000-plus a year contract renewed by the Bartlett government for another four years.
The man they say has run Tasmania since taking over the head position at Treasury said he could work with either side.
“I have no intention whatsoever of retiring,” Mr Challen said late last week. “I am very happy to work with whoever the people of Tasmania elect as their government.”
Mr Challen has held the plum and powerful Treasury post since 1993, helping to frame successive budgets of the Groom, Rundle, Bacon, Lennon and Bartlett governments.
Major events coming up in which Mr Challen will play a key role include:
•The April 19 Council of Australian Governments meeting in Canberra to negotiate the Prime Minister’s national health plan.
•Framing the 2010 state budget, due in early June.
•New energy price regulatory reforms.
•Bedding down the new state- owned rail system.
•Changes to the new sewerage and water charges.
•In the case of Liberal and Green election promises, managing the implementation. The combined promises total $900million.
The Examiner canvassed his future with a range of senior Tasmanian professionals who were unanimous in their belief that he would survive, especially with the state facing a period of uncertainty with a minority government.
“The new administration, whether Liberal or Labor, will need a firm plan of attack, or Challen will snow them. There is a potential for any Treasury head to be too powerful for a new government,” one said.
“He will be one of the most important people in the state in the coming months.
“Don is a strong personality and it will be a test of strength to begin with if Peter Gutwein becomes the new treasurer.
“Also, the Liberals in 1998 were not happy that he led them down the path of Hydro privatisation, and then showed the incoming government how to improve the budget’s bottom line without selling the Hydro.”
And another: “Challen has outlived numerous departmental heads, and the pundits said he wouldn’t last under Labor after the $4 billion Hydro sale controversy in 1997. He is a survivor. He is just very clever, too clever for them to do without him.”
Only Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry economist Richard Dowling would speak on the record, to say the chamber had strong confidence in Treasury.
Meanwhile Mr Challen appeared to have a high opinion of Tasmanian Times, or at least an opinion:
From Challens evidence to the Public Accounts Committee – for full copy go to Public Accounts Committee then Federal Inquiry and Challen testimony is separate file. Quote is from page 10:
Mr HIDDING – You are very reticent to provide these documents; are you saying that the release of these documents could harm your reputation?
Mr CHALLEN – No, on the contrary, the release of these documents will do my reputation no end of good, but I need to be confident – when I say ‘my reputation’ I mean the department’s reputation of course – that if this issue blows up again in five or 10 years’ time those documents will be there for people to go back to and if some historian is writing a history of this, oldtt.pixelkey.biz or something like that, I want to make sure that the documents are there so that the truth can be told …
The Don Challen comments were made in relation to the Bacon/Lennon Governments’ pokies deal with Federal Hotels. Read James Boyce’s insightful articles: HERE