I am pleased to announce the following appointments to the Productivity Commission (the Commission):
- Ms Melinda Cilento as a part-time Commissioner for a five-year period; and
- Mr Paul Lindwall as a full-time Commissioner for a five-year period.
The Commission is an independent authority established under the Productivity Commission Act 1998 and is the Australian Government’s principal advisory body on microeconomic policy and regulation. The Commission’s work covers all sectors of the economy and focuses on areas of Australian Government as well as State and Territory responsibility.
Ms Cilento has both public and private sector experience, having worked at Treasury and the International Monetary Fund before taking up the role of Head of Economics, Invesco Australia. She was then Chief Economist and Deputy CEO of the Business Council of Australia from 2002 to 2010. She is currently on the board of a number of major companies.
Mr Lindwall has public policy experience with Treasury, the Department of Finance and the Commission, and has also worked as a senior political adviser. He has been the Australian Treasury representative in Europe as well as a consultant at the OECD. Most recently, he has been an Associate Commissioner at the Commission working on the Public Infrastructure Inquiry, and from 1 July 2014 has been acting in the role of Commissioner at the Commission.
I congratulate Ms Cilento and Mr Lindwall on their appointments and look forward to them making a significant contribution to the important work of the Commission.