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The new Treasury Secretary has many lines in his CV you would expect of someone put in charge of the department managing the country's dollars and cents. He has a PhD and Masters in economics. He's been a deputy secretary at Prime Minister and Cabinet, at the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, and the Department of the Environment - just to name a few. But probably unlike all the Treasury secretaries to go before him, Dr Steven Kennedy also trained and worked as a nurse before joining the public service. Few would be surprised that the current secretary of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities will soon be putting his feet under the big desk at Treasury. His name was mentioned multiple times before the election when it appeared Labor would win government and show Phil Gaetjens the door. After joining the public service as a cadet at the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Dr Kennedy held a number of positions in Treasury, from where he was twice seconded to Prime Minister and Cabinet. He was elevated to secretary level almost two years ago. In a day of controversial announcements around the public service, Dr Kennedy's appointment was widely welcomed, with shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers praising him as "a wonderful economist and public servant and a welcome appointment". Prime Minister Scott Morrison pointed out Dr Kennedy's political experience as well, having served in the office of former prime ministers Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd. He was also a deputy secretary at the then Department of Climate Change and headed the secretariat of the Garnaut Climate Change Review update in 2011 - positions that were once seen as highly political. The public service needed to address the lack of trust from the community, Dr Kennedy said last year, with more engagement with the public. "More engagement with the community, with business and with academics, where we can test ideas, be straightforward about what the government expects of us in our various policy domains, and occasionally take a risk," he said at an Australian National University event. In a statement Dr Kennedy said the new role was a great honour and he was looking forward to it. "It is a privilege to serve the people of Australia through the Government of the day in any capacity," he said.

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