Peter Noel Harris is a senior Australian public servant. He was

Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...

of the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy from 2009 to 2012. He was Chairman of the Australian

Productivity Commission The Productivity Commission is the Australian Government's principal review and advisory body on microeconomic policy, regulation and a range of other social and environmental issues. The Productivity Commission was created as an independent ...

between 2012 and 2018.

Life and career

Harris joined the

Australian Public Service The Australian Public Service (APS) is the federal civil service of the Commonwealth of Australia responsible for the public administration, public policy, and public services of the departments and executive and statutory agencies of the ...

in 1976 as a graduate economist in the Department of Overseas Trade. From 1989 to 1991, Harris was senior private secretary to Prime Minister Bob Hawke. Between 2001 and 2002, Harris was vice president of government and international affairs with the Air New Zealand/Ansett Group.

Ansett Australia Ansett Australia was a major Australian airline group, based in Melbourne, Australia. The airline flew domestically within Australia and from the 1990s to destinations in Asia. After operating for 65 years, the airline was placed into admini ...

went into liquidation in March 2002 and Harris joined the Victorian public service that year, serving as the Director of Public Transport and later Secretary of the Department of Sustainability and Environment. Then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd appointed Harris

of the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy in August 2009. In the role, he was responsible for overseeing the roll-out of the $37 billion

National Broadband Network The National Broadband Network (NBN) is an Australian national wholesale open-access data network. It includes wired and radio communication components rolled out and operated by NBN Co, a Government-owned corporation. Internet service provi ...

. In November 2012, Harris was appointed Chairman of the Australian

Honours and appointments

Harris was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2013 for distinguished service to public administration through leadership and policy reform roles in the areas of telecommunications, the environment, primary industry and transport. In March 2019, Harris joined the board of Infrastructure Australia, about six months after retiring from his final major government role as chair of the Productivity Commission. In April 2020 he was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of the National COVID-19 Coordination Commission (NCC) Advisory Board, which he concluded in October 2020. He currently holds an advisory board position with retirement specialist start up Household Capital.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Peter Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Australian public servants Officers of the Order of Australia University of Queensland alumni