Chris Bowen attacks 'politicised' Treasury appointment, indicates he'd replace Philip Gaetjens

The tenure of the incoming Treasury secretary, Philip Gaetjens, could run for less than a year after opposition treasury spokesman Chris Bowen stepped up his attack on the appointment, signalling the former Liberal staffer will be dumped if Labor is elected.

In a stinging rebuke of the government, a clearly livid Mr Bowen savaged the promotion as "simply wrong", describing Mr Gaetjens as a "long-term, very senior partisan player," who had served as chief of staff to Mr Morrison and before that, to then treasurer, Peter Costello.

"The Charter of Budget Honesty requires the secretary of the Treasury to sign off the pre-election fiscal outlook, which is meant to be a document thoroughly above partisan politics," Mr Bowen said.

"But the man signing it off will now be someone who a few weeks ago was the Treasurer's chief political adviser -  the chief advisor to the chief spear thrower at Labor’s policies will also now be in charge of compiling the incoming government brief on these policies."

Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen has unleashed on the government's Treasury appointment.Credit: Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

Mr Bowen said the government had compromised the integrity of the Treasury by appointing someone clearly attached to its own side.

Mr Bowen was addressing a superannuation conference in Melbourne and told those present that the selection of Mr Gaetjens has made his blood "boil" because the Commonwealth Treasury, above all departments, must be seen as determinedly independent.

"We need a strong, utterly non-partisan Treasury giving free, frank and full economic advice to the government of the day," Mr Bowen told delegates.

“This is the first time I have criticised a senior public servant, ever ... and I don’t do so lightly.

"If I am treasurer again in the not too distant future, restoring the independence and non-partisan nature of this most important body will be a very important priority for me."

Mr Gaetjens is set to take up his appointment from next Wednesday, but with an election set to occur within 10 months, his time as the nation's top economic bureaucrat, could be brief, depending on the election outcome.

Mr Gaetjens replaces outgoing Treasury secretary John Fraser, who himself succeeded Martin Parkinson, at the time considered too close to Labor by the newly minted Abbott government.

Philip GaetjensCredit: Elesa Kurtz

Dr Parkinson has since returned to head up the department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, albeit with a new Liberal Prime Minister in office.

Only last month, Mr Gaetjens was announced as Australia's new ambassador to the OECD based in Paris. However that appointment was quickly superseded by the Treasury announcement.

Unveiling his selection for the Paris post, the government lauded Mr Gaetjens' economic credentials.

"Mr Gaetjens is currently the chief of staff to the Treasurer the Hon Scott Morrison MP, a role he also undertook for the Hon Peter Costello MP when he was treasurer. He previously served overseas as the inaugural director of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation Policy Support Unit, Singapore during 2008-2010," Mr Morrison had said in a joint statement with Foreign Minister Julie Bishop on June 4.

"Mr Gaetjens holds a graduate diploma in accounting from the University of Canberra and a Bachelor of arts (honours) economics and geography from Flinders University."