Army ‘outsider’ Kathryn Campbell tipped to take DFAT reins

Senior public servant and army reserve officer Kathryn Campbell is being tipped as a frontrunner to replace Frances Adamson as DFAT secretary.

Department of Social Services secretary Kathryn Campbell. Picture: AAP

Senior public servant and army reserve officer Kathryn Campbell is being tipped as a frontrunner to replace Frances Adamson as Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade secretary, with Scott Morrison expected to finalise his decision within weeks.

The appointment of a new DFAT chief ahead of Ms Adamson’s exit to take up the South Australia governor’s post on June 25 comes amid rising geostrategic tension in the Indo-Pacific region.

Installing Australia’s new top diplomat will be one of the Prime Minister’s most important appointments as the government navigates the China relationship.

Ms Campbell, who is close to Mr Morrison and has led the government’s Covid-19 welfare program, is considered a DFAT outsider – viewed by some as a positive for leading the nation’s diplomatic and trade agenda.

Mr Morrison is expected to announce a replacement before he leaves in a fortnight for the G7 summit in Britain.

While DFAT heads have traditionally had diplomatic links, Ms Campbell would come to the role from a defence and social services background.

The Department of Social Services secretary, who previously led the now defunct Human Services department, was deputy commander of Joint Task Force 633 overseeing Australian forces in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

Ms Campbell, a major general in the army reserves and commander of the army’s 2nd Division, has close relationships with senior government ministers and was described by Mr Morrison in February as “one of the finest public officials in our public service”.

Senior diplomatic and public service sources this week named her as the leading candidate for the DFAT post, which has been held by Ms Adamson since 2016.

During her tenure, Ms Adamson led the implementation of the Pacific Step-Up, increased engagement across Southeast Asian nations and oversaw Australia’s role in supporting the Covid-19 regional recovery effort.

Canberra bureaucrats had earlier speculated that veteran diplomat Paul Grigson, who worked closely with Mr Morrison in leading the government’s Vaccine Strategy Integration, was a leading DFAT candidate.

A wider shake-up of public ­service chiefs is expected later this year, with the Attorney-­General’s Department secretary role needing to be filled after Chris Moraitis was made the director-general of the Office of the Special ­Investigator, tasked with in­vestigating and prosecuting alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.

Other senior bureaucrats with DFAT experience mentioned as options to replace Ms Adamson include Clare Walsh, Greg Moriarty, Tony Sheehan and Justin Hayhurst.

Public service and diplomatic sources said installing an outsider to lead DFAT would “ruffle a few feathers” but ensure the culture of the sprawling department remained “fit-for-purpose”.

“There are multiple deputy secretaries and layers of institutional knowledge inside DFAT. You just need to install a strong leader at the top, preferably someone who is close with the Prime Minister,” a source said.

Rumoured movements across other key departments including Prime Minister and Cabinet, Home Affairs and Defence have yet to eventuate, after the cabinet reshuffle in March saw the appointment of new ministers into key security portfolios.