05 April 2016
The University of South Australia will acknowledge the outstanding career of Professor Gary Banks, AO Chief Executive and Dean of the Australia and New Zealand School of Government at its afternoon graduation ceremony today.
Prof Banks will be conferred as an Honorary Doctor of the University in recognition of his lifetime contribution to a broad range of public policy areas through his leadership of the Productivity Commission, the Centre for International Economics and as Chair of the Council of Australian Governments Steering Committee.
UniSA Vice Chancellor Professor David Lloyd says the evaluation and making of excellence policies is the core of good government.
“It is the deep, evidenced-based, evaluation of the impacts and effects of policy development and change that makes the difference between progress and stability and stagnation and disarray for organisations, businesses and indeed nations,” Prof Lloyd says.
“Prof Banks leadership and dedication to good governance, underpinned by good policy has been exemplary, not only in the Australian context but also on the international stage.
“In his capacity at the Centre for International Economics he consulted to the OECD, the World Bank and the World Trade Organisation and earlier in his career he was a senior economist with the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade Secretariat in Geneva.
“It was this wealth of experience that saw him appointed as Chairman of the Productivity Commission in 1998 a position he held for 14 years, developing its profile as Australia’s most respected source of independent advice to government.”
Prof Lloyd says Prof Banks led enquiries into a range of critical economic and social issues including greenhouse policy, housing affordability, private health insurance, trans-Tasman economic relations, national competition policy, gambling and executive remuneration.
In 2013 Prof Banks became an independent non-executive director of the Macquarie Group Board and in the same year he was appointed to the Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Council.
Today he is an occasional lecturer at the Melbourne Business School as part of its public policy program and he continues as a member of the judging panel for the BHP-Billiton Reconciliation Australia Indigenous Governance Awards, a role he has undertaken since 2005.
“We are delighted to welcome Prof Banks to the UniSA community – his work has been a fine example of both public service and a commitment to excellence – qualities we value highly at the University of South Australia,” Prof Lloyd says.
Media contact: Michèle Nardelli office +61 883020966 mob 0418823673 email michele.nardelli@unisa.edu.au
