It will be led by Director General Richard Corrigan, who has held the role in an ‘acting’ capacity over the past 18 months.
The new department’s formation follows protests by Economic Development Minister Senator Lyndon Farnham about the ‘super-department’ his portfolio fell into following former CEO Charlie Parker’s ‘OneGov’ reforms.
‘Growth, Housing and Environment’ (GHE) brought together the Ministers for Economic Development, Environment, Housing and Infrastructure when they had each previously worked separately.
From January, ‘Economy’ will become a single entity, with the Economic Development Minister, and External Relations and Finance Minister Senator Ian Gorst holding political responsibility.
Pre-empting the change, GHE has already been renamed ‘Infrastructure, Housing and Environment’ (IHE).