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Valedictory Address – Robert Cornall AO
Concluding remarks
Terry Moran, Secretary, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet
It gives me great pleasure to make a few remarks about Rob to conclude the formal part of the evening.
Compared to some of those present here tonight Rob could be described as a relative newcomer to the ranks of the Australian Public Service. But he is long‑serving as a Secretary, having held that position at the Attorney-General’s Department for eight and a half years.
And as we’ve heard, while holding it he steered not only the Department but also to a large extent the entire national security apparatus of the nation through an extremely testing period.
Let me for a moment dwell on Rob’s status as a relative newcomer. I want to acknowledge his pre-APS experience and the value that those experiences have brought to the cadre of Canberra Secretaries.
While I wouldn’t quite call it “chequered”, Rob’s background has certainly been varied.
He has extensive experience as a solicitor, and later partner, in a prestigious Melbourne law firm. For eight years during this Melbourne Period, if I can call it that, Rob also served as Executive Director and Secretary of the Law Institute of Victoria.
A former mutual colleague of ours attributes the excellent relations that existed between the Institute and the Attorney-General when Rob left this position to his strong emphasis on building positive and lasting relationships – a talent that has continued to distinguish him in subsequent roles.
It was particularly evident during the five years he served the government and the people of Victoria in his role as Managing Director of Victorian Legal Aid, in the late 1990s.
Peter Harmsworth – our mutual former colleague who was then Secretary of the Victorian Justice Department – recalls being taken aback at their first meeting by this “lawyer who was talking about ‘business engineering’ and ‘building a client focus’ amongst his staff”.
It’s fair to say that in implementing this vision, Rob won few friends in the legal fraternity, despite having the support of his Board. But fixing fees for lawyers undertaking work funded by Legal Aid was a bold move that succeeded in cutting out a number of “rorts” that had become the practice when defending clients paid for by Legal Aid.
Peter has asked me to pass on his very best wishes to Rob in his retirement – which is much deserved after such a distinguished career spanning both the private and public sector.
Negotiating skills are another of Rob’s hallmarks – his involvement was key to the successful re-negotiation by Victoria of various Legal Aid Agreements with the Commonwealth.
Perhaps it was inevitable, owing to the outward political tensions between the Federal and State Governments, that these negotiations were never easy, but Rob was always fastidious in putting together the Victorian case and prosecuting it with vigour.
I’m sure these negotiations also served to provide him with useful insights into the ways of Federal politics and, in a small way, into the operations of the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department.
Rob has also been notable over the years for his “team player” attitude and frequent participation in departmental corporate conferences and workshops.
In his Melbourne days he was a regular participant at IPAA events and went on to become the President of the ACT Branch of IPAA after he became Secretary of the Attorney‑General’s Department.
And so we come to Rob’s Canberra Period – where Rob brought with him to the Capital his experience of a professional services firm, a professional peak body, a state public service.
In addition to his facility for quickly taking the measure of new working environments, he brought fresh perspectives on organisational management, on the development of people, on stakeholder management and on how to get things done.
I think the Secretaries as a group would acknowledge that these perspectives have been an extremely beneficial addition to both policy and management discussions within the senior ranks of the APS. Such reinvigoration from without is always valuable.
Fortunately for Rob this afternoon, there’s nothing even remotely risqué I can add to these reflections on his time in Canberra – and believe me, it’s not for want of looking. Rob has tended to be described as calm; reasonable; with a wry sense of humour.
His calm demeanour was evident at his first AG’s Christmas Party. Rob, as always, was impeccably dressed – on this occasion in a pale suit – and just before he was to make his speech to the department someone tipped a whole carafe of red wine over his shoulder.
He stood up and spoke as if nothing had happened, stayed to the end of the evening and went home reeking of shiraz. The lawyer responsible is still in the department, I’m told.
Rob also took his advisory role seriously, writing in the 2004 departmental newsletter that men should avoid having photos taken in a dark suit with a dark shirt and dull tie - “a white shirt and a light coloured tie photograph better with a dark suit, particularly in black and white”.
Another tip was to avoid having your photo taken with a name tag on or with a glass or food in your hand.
But I won’t go on to spill any state secrets or hazard any rash judgments, because in addition to all the other admirable qualities I’ve listed, Rob has consistently displayed peerless discretion and the utmost integrity.
I take this opportunity to salute Rob’s quiet leadership, his focus and his determination to serve Australia well in what we all know were very difficult circumstances.
In particular, it is worth mentioning again how, as leader of his Department and portfolio Secretary for a number of critical national security agencies, Rob dealt with the aftermath of September 11 and the terrible circumstances of two Bali bombings.
All of this he accomplished with honour and distinction, and a clear‑sighted view of the effect of policy decisions on our society more broadly.
So while Rob’s fabled reserve and circumspect approach to all around him have made it hard to find good stories to tell this afternoon, these are exactly the qualities one would look for in a Secretary with such responsibilities at such a time.
Indeed, it is no stretch to say that Rob has served with distinction in difficult circumstances. We in the APS are privileged to have served alongside him.
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