One of the biggest machinery-of-government changes out of last year’s election was the creation of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW).
David Fredericks, who was at the then-named Department of Industry, Science and Resources, is the secretary in charge of the department overseeing this government’s commitment to the environment.
In this instalment of The Mandarin’s Secretary’s Sticky Notes series, in which we ask departmental leaders five questions about their role and what they expect to face in 2023, Fredericks talks about the values he hopes to embed in the new department.
What is at the top of your department’s agenda for 2023?
The government created the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water in 2022 as a significant new department of state to tackle a range of complex policy issues that are critical to our country’s future. Delivery of the priorities the government has set for us is at the forefront of our agenda, which includes:
- to help Australia to adapt to climate change and to drive the economy to net zero emissions
- to deliver affordable, clean and secure energy supply
- to drive a nature positive approach to protect, restore and improve our environment
- to deliver the Murray Darling Basin plan and broader water reform
- to partner with First Nations people to achieve these priorities while contributing to Closing the Gap
- to lift Australia’s international leadership and to influence and position Australia as a partner of choice in our region.
Delivery of these priorities will help ensure Australia is prosperous because it is sustainable, and will place communities and country at the heart of what we do.
We will also play our role in supporting the APS to be as effective as it can be to deliver for the Australian public.
What do you think the biggest challenge will be for your department in 2023?
We are in a period of unprecedented change, with significant reforms required to deliver on our priorities, often in response to fast-moving global and domestic developments. At the same time, the APS must reform the way we go about our work, with integrity, accountability and an increasingly community-centric approach to reforms a necessary core focus.
For DCCEEW, this presents a healthy challenge to be able to move quickly enough to deliver on a range of priorities and keep ahead of often fast-moving developments, while also ensuring we comprehensively engage with and maintain strong and productive partnerships with communities, other governments, First Nations peoples and groups, NGOs, industry, unions and other stakeholders.
What do you think is your biggest leadership challenge?
I co-led the development of the Secretaries Charter of Leadership Behaviours, which sets out the behaviours expected in all APS leaders. This charter, known as the DRIVE behaviours, calls on leaders to be dynamic, be respectful, have integrity, value others and empower people. These behaviours are critical to building an inclusive, dynamic and respectful culture, in which staff can bring their best selves to work.
Given I have the unique opportunity of the ongoing establishment of DCCEEW as a new, highly significant department of state, I have set myself the personal challenge of doing all I can to embed these behaviours as central to the enduring culture of DCCEEW, and indeed of the wider APS.
What was your 2022 highlight?
My highlight from 2022 was being asked to lead the newly created Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. It is a privilege to lead a department that has been created to tackle a range of complex policy issues that are of such critical importance to our country’s future.
What’s your motto for the public service in 2023?
My motto for the public service is the same as the goals I have set for DCCEEW: That we are influential in all that we do and are the best possible place to work.
Others in the series:
Former DVA secretary Liz Cosson
Health secretary Brendan Murphy
Attorney-General secretary Katherine Jones
Outgoing Education secretary Michele Bruniges
Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts secretary Jim Betts
Any feedback or news tips? Here’s where to contact the relevant team.