The Power List: Scott Morrison’s policy shapers

People who can deliver, action not theory: those are the traits common to Scott Morrison’s policy advisers.

Christine Morgan, left, is the Prime Minister’s national suicide prevention adviser. Picture: Chris Kidd

A government insider offered this insight into what traits Scott Morrison is looking for in the advisers who will help him realise his policy agenda.

“These are people who can deliver, they are about action not theory,” a senior government insider told Inquirer.

Morrison’s policy shapers – those he has entrusted with the development of some of his top priorities – are an intriguing mix of the old and the new.

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Party elder Shane Stone is now the most senior drought adviser in the nation after the North Queensland Livestock Industry Recovery Agency was rebadged this week by Morrison as the National Drought and North Queensland Flood Response and Recovery Agency.

The agency will sit within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and report to Water Resources and Drought Minister David Littleproud.

Christine Morgan is the Prime Minister’s national suicide prevention adviser. Morrison appointed her in July, citing her background as NMHC chief executive and CEO of the Butterfly Foundation. Morgan has emerged as the key voice in helping Morrison shape policy to better support mental health.

Appointed to a five-year term as ABS statistician this month, David Gruen is considered one of the most experienced minds in public policy, economics and international affairs. Andy Penn, the CEO and managing director of Telsta, maintains a solid relationship with the Morrison government, as he attempts to implement a change program with 5G at its core.