I have written to the States and Territories to seek their support for the nomination of Mr Graeme Samuel AO as Deputy Chairman and Mr Ed Willett as member of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
Mr Graeme Samuel AO is currently the President of the National Competition Council (NCC) and, if approved, will hold a dual appointment with the ACCC until the end of the current NCC assessment round in mid 2003.
Mr Willett will immediately resign his position as Executive Director of the NCC upon appointment to the ACCC, subject to the agreement of the States and Territories.
Background
Mr Graeme Samuel was appointed to the National Competition Council in 1995 and has been the NCC's President since 1997. He was formerly a partner of Melbourne law firm Phillips Fox & Masel and an executive director of Macquarie Bank and is a former President of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1998.
Mr Ed Willett has been Executive Director of the NCC since 1995. Mr Willett previously served as Assistant Commissioner of the Industry Commission and has worked within the Department of Industry Science and Technology, the Department of Defence and the New Zealand Ministry of External Relations and Trade.