Sir Brian Roche appointed as new Public Service Commissioner

Monday, 14 October 2024

The Government has appointed Sir Brian Roche, a public service heavyweight and former Ardern government fixer, as public service commissioner.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Public Service Minister Nicola Willis announced the appointment of Roche on Monday afternoon, after an eight-month search to replace Peter Hughes in which speculation swirled about why the coalition parties could not reach consensus.

Unusually, Roche has been appointed to the job for two years and eight months, instead of the typical five years, and he will continue working four hours a week on a “small number” of private boards, what boards was not declared, and his pay would be adjusted accordingly.

“I asked Sir Brian to apply for this role. He wasn't in the initial batch of applicants,” Willis said.

“I judged that he has a particularly special skill set with the balance of public and private sector experience, and in asking him to apply, he made it clear that that was going to require sacrifice from his family, and this was the term that he wanted to sign up to.”

Luxon said Roche had a proven track record of leadership, and understood how “to manage problems, develop talent and drive performance”.

“The great thing is that Sir Brian has been fully endorsed by every political leader of every political party in the Parliament, and I think that's a good sign that we've actually got someone of mana and respect and capability, that we've been able to attract such a high-calibre individual actually, to take on this role, and I think he's going to hit the ground running from day one,” Luxon said.

“Yes, it's a shortened term, but he's going to add a lot of value to the public service.”

Labour leader Chris Hipkins said Roche, who he worked closely with during the pandemic response, would be “exceptional” as public service commissioner.

“He's got a distinguished public and private sector background, I think he will preserve the political neutrality of the public service, which is a really important part of that role, and, really importantly, I think that he will have the trust and confidence of the senior leaders within the public service.”

Hipkins said he understood the coalition Government parties came to agree on Roche’s appointment only “very recently”.

The search for a new public service commissioner began on January 31, when job applications opened with a February 25 deadline. But the need to replace Hughes has been known about since before the election, when the public service leader announced he would retire early in the new year.

In his final year in the job, Hughes earned $630,000.

Roche has for months been named as a prime candidate for commissioner around Wellington, however as the appointment process dragged on and a lack of consensus between coalition parties became apparent, just who would get the job seemed up in the air.

A former public service heavyweight, Sir Brian also has experience in the commercial world. He has previously led NZ Post, and been chairperson of the New Zealand Transport Agency and Auckland’s major City Rail Link project. He has also worked as a chairperson of NZ Rugby and as a senior partner at PwC.

In recent years, Sir Brian became known for being a fix-it man for the Labour Government amid the Covid-19 pandemic, leading an independent advisory group into the pandemic response, an advisory panel on defence strategy, and the taskforce into the Cyclone Gabrielle response.

He was also chairperson of Antarctica New Zealand as the organisation handled the Scott Base redevelopment, which Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters now routinely criticises for its cost blow outs. Peters announced a new chairperson for the Antarctic NZ board, Leon Grice, in February, noting briefly that Sir Brian had recently resigned from the organisation after a decade.

Ending the uncertainty over who will be public service commissioner comes after a series of important appointments: Ben King as chief executive of Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Bede Corry as head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Brook Barrington as the new defence secretary.

But other important vacancies will need to be filled, in particular the Treasury Secretary. Current secretary Dr Caralee McLiesh will return to Australia when her contract ends in September, and deputy chief executive Struan Little will cover the top job while an appointment is found.

Roche will begin as commissioner on November 4 for a term ending June 2027.