Martin Parkinson

Dr Martin Parkinson was appointed the Chancellor of Macquarie University in October 2019. He previously served as Secretary to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet between January 2016 and August 2019 and as the Secretary to the Australian Treasury from March 2011 to December 2014. Prior to this, Martin served as inaugural Secretary of the Department of Climate Change from its establishment in December 2007.

Martin is a director of O’Connell Street Associates and a member of the Founding Group of the Male Champions of Change, a group of male Chairs, CEOs and NEDs committed to the advancement of women into senior leadership positions in the private and public sectors.

Martin has previously served as: a director of Orica, the Cranlana Program for Ethical Leadership, and the German-Australian Chamber of Industry and Commerce; as a member of the Board of the Reserve Bank of Australia; Chair of the Australian Office of Financial Management; and as a member of the boards of Infrastructure Australia, the Council of Financial Regulators, the Board of Taxation, and the Sir Roland Wilson Foundation. He has also been a member of Prime Minister Abbott’s Business Advisory Council, Prime Minister Gillard’s Australia’s Asian Century Strategic Advisory Board, the Policy Committee of Australia’s leading domestic think tank, the Grattan Institute, and the Australian Federal Police Future Directions Advisory Board.

In January 2017 Martin was awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia, following his 2008 receipt of the Public Service Medal. He is: a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia and of the Institute of Public Administration Australia; a life member of the Australian Business Economists; Fellow of the Australian National Institute of Public Policy; recipient of the ANZSOG Institute of Governance Public Sector Award for Excellence; and, in 2013, was awarded the Australian National University’s inaugural Alumnus of the Year.

Martin holds a Ph.D and a M.A. from Princeton University, a M.Ec from the Australian National University and a B.Ec (Hons 1) from the University of Adelaide. In May 2015, Martin was awarded the degree of Doctor of the University (honoris causa) by the University of Adelaide.