A message from your newly appointed Head of the State Service (09 May 2024)

Hello everyone,

It’s hard to believe that two weeks have already passed since I began my new role as Secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet and Head of the Tasmanian State Service.  I am truly honoured to be delivering my first HoSS message to all of you today.

In writing this first message, I wish to acknowledge the significant legacy of Jenny Gale PSM, a Secretary that I have worked shoulder to shoulder with for many years and a dedicated leader of the State Service - thank you Jenny.

For those of you that don’t know me – I go by the name ‘Kath’, am a proud mum to 2 teenage girls and a 5 year old adopted greyhound ‘Bobbi’, have been married for 25 years this year, and care for my 94-year old stepdad who seems to thrive in our slightly chaotic home. I am a lawyer by trade, with an honours degree in social psychology and have worked in nearly every State and Territory in Australia, in both the private sector and Federal and State public sectors.

Having worked in the Tasmanian State Service since 2014, I now call 4 agencies ‘home’ – the Department of Treasury and Finance, Department of Justice, Department of Health and now Premier and Cabinet. But during the COVID-19 pandemic – I got to know and work with so many amazing people and teams right across our service – with many fond and lasting memories of the way in which we came together truly as one state service to protect the Tasmanian Community, our families and friends.

In my first fortnight at DPAC, I've been actively engaging with various aspects of our TSS operations and have had the pleasure of meeting many of you — some familiar faces and some new. The commitment and professionalism I've encountered across our agencies has been impressive, and I look forward to further interactions as we work together to serve the people of Tasmania.

My initial engagements have included the first (of many) meetings and briefings with some of our key stakeholders – to meet, listen to and seek feedback – not only on the work that we do, but also our challenges and priorities for improvement. A large number of these meetings have focussed on the critical work we have underway to implement the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry – to encourage collaboration, ensure alignment and cross-agency effort to deliver child safety reform.  There is nothing more important than the safety of children and the vulnerable in our care, and I am personally committed to leading the implementation of all the Commission’s recommendations, working with our heads of agencies and reform taskforce to do so.

In my first week I had the privilege of attending the first regional cabinet meeting of the 51st Tasmanian Parliament. This meeting was held in Brighton, where the Premier and Ministers took the time to speak with local council and community representatives to gain insight into what matters most for them.  I look forward to supporting future regional cabinet meetings which are held at various locations across the state, to meet, listen to, and test with community members whether the services we are delivering best meet their needs.

Last Wednesday I supported the Premier in his attendance at National Cabinet, which includes all Federal and State and Territory leaders, chaired by the Prime Minister, to address the national crisis of gender-based violence. The National Cabinet set several priorities, including strengthening perpetrator consequences and accountability, focusing on prevention through evidence-based approaches, and addressing the impact of domestic and family violence in First Nations communities. Gender-based violence affects people in every community across Tasmania and impacts nearly every service that we provide – and I thank all of you that are committed to preventing, intervening, treating and caring in this critical space.

Wrapping up the fortnight, I had the pleasure of travelling to Carrick to meet the large team of State Service staff that support Tasmania’s largest Agricultural Festival, AgFest. Beyond being a vibrant family event, AgFest is a crucial networking venue for the agricultural sector and its communities and it was great to see the friendly faces in Service Tasmania, DSS, DECYP, Health, DPFEM and NRE teams in full swing talking to show visitors and providing information and connection to the services we provide.  The kids loved having a look into an ambulance and the electric stryker stretchers; creating their own drivers’ licence, trying out the Police motorbike, and of course cuddling the Biosecurity Dog!  Well done also to the school communities that ran their own hospitality businesses – building, cooking and running food stalls to cater to the hungry hordes. I also popped into a couple of our Service Tasmania venues in Longford and Launceston and encourage everyone to register for their own myServiceTAS account at https://www.service.tas.gov.au/myservicetas.

Lastly, I want to express my gratitude to everyone who has participated in the 2024 Tasmanian State Service survey so far. Your feedback is invaluable and will directly influence our cultural initiatives and inform change. For those who have yet to complete the survey, it remains open until May 22nd. Please make sure to have your say by visiting the Orima link provided to you via your email notification.

Thank you once again for your warm support and well wishes. I look forward to working closely with all of you and leading a strong and successful State Service.

Please note: if you, or someone you know, is impacted by domestic violence, please call the National domestic family and sexual violence counselling service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

Best wishes,

Kathrine Morgan-Wicks
Head of the State Service
Secretary, Department of Premier and Cabinet
09 May 2024