Stephanie Foster auditions for Home Affairs secretary role
Porsche-driving former spy Stephanie Foster faces her biggest challenge as she stakes her claim to replace Mike Pezzullo as Home Affairs secretary.
She’s a red Porsche-driving former spy; a renowned bureaucratic fixer who helped Scott Morrison to be sworn into multiple ministries at the height of the Covid pandemic.
Now Stephanie Foster is facing perhaps her biggest challenge as she stakes her claim to lead the government’s sprawling Department of Home Affairs after the ignominious exit of Michael Pezzullo.
Ms Foster will front Senate estimates on Monday morning, four weeks to the day after Anthony Albanese stood aside Mr Pezzullo and appointed her as acting Home Affairs secretary.
Her appearance is hotly anticipated in Canberra’s political and bureaucratic bubble, with insiders likening it to a high pressure interview for one the public service’s toughest jobs.
Mr Pezzullo faces an Australian Public Service Commission investigation over thousands of leaked messages with a Liberal Party powerbroker, revealing he sought to influence political decisions while undermining cabinet ministers and public service enemies.
The commission says the investigation is ongoing. But no one expects “The Pez” to return.
Monday’s hearing is far from Ms Foster’s first Senate estimates rodeo. The 36-year public service veteran made headlines two years ago when, as deputy secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, she appeared to wink at then-cabinet minister Simon Birmingham during an estimates hearing.
“I can say categorically I have at no stage intentionally winked at Senator Birmingham,” Ms Foster said, when questioned by Labor’s Penny Wong over the apparently conspiratorial gesture.
After reviewing the footage she said she had likely been welcoming a colleague to the table.
Ms Foster is well regarded on both sides of politics and is said to enjoy the confidence of Home Affairs Minister Claire O’Neil.
Some in Labor grumble, however, at the sight of her Porsche cabriolet in the ministerial car park when she has appointments at Parliament House.
A renowned Francophile, Ms Foster was awarded the French Officier de l’Ordre National du Merite in 2010 for her work strengthening Australia’s defence relationship with France. She speaks French so fluently she has at times amused colleagues by asking, “What’s the English word for that …?”
Ms Foster began her public service career in 1987 as a graduate trainee in the-then Defence Signals Directorate, where she spent the next 16 years as an analyst and manager.
Senior roles followed in the Department of Defence’s international policy division, and in PM&C, where she oversaw the department’s governance functions.
In the latter role, she was appointed by Mr Morrison after the Brittany Higgins rape allegation to review the handling of sexual assault and bullying complaints by parliamentary staffers. Her 2021 review led to reforms to improve Parliament House’s working culture, including a new independent complaints body for MPs and staff.
WATCH: Dept of PM&C's Stephanie Foster appears to wink at Simon Birmingham (and/or colleagues) during #estimates, as she's grilled about Christian Porter's anonymous donations and the timeline of internal discussions regarding whether or not these were compliant with standards. pic.twitter.com/AwsrMeBbCK
— Stela Todorovic (@Stela_Todorovic) October 25, 2021
Ms Foster’s role in Mr Morrison being sworn to multiple ministries emerged later, in former High Court judge Virginia Bell’s report on the scandal.
Last November’s report revealed Ms Foster, as PM&C deputy secretary, suggested Mr Morrison be “cross sworn” as health minister, after learning he wanted to exercise biosecurity powers if then-health minister Greg Hunt was incapacitated with Covid. She sought advice from the Attorney-General’s Department and the Australian Government Solicitor, which endorsed the course of action.
Mr Morrison was ultimately sworn by the Governor-General to administer the Department of Health and four other departments, without the knowledge of senior colleagues. Justice Bell found Ms Foster was unaware Mr Morrison intended to keep the arrangement secret.
It is unclear what senior Labor figures make of her behind-the-scenes involvement in the affair. But one government MP, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Ms Foster was “a very, very impressive public servant”, and an ideal candidate to run Home Affairs.
“She’s smart, measured, decent, really experienced, and would totally transform the place,” the Labor MP said.
The same MP condemned the “utterly appalling, dystopian culture” in the department under Mr Pezzullo, saying the place was “riddled with fear, and fear breeds bad performance”.
Mr Morrison’s former chief of staff, John Kunkel, said Ms Foster was “a completely professional public servant – smart, pragmatic, but also very principled”.
“She’s had a lot of tough things thrown at her. She dealt with them all extremely well, with complete professionalism,” he said.
“I mean, I wouldn’t have a clue which way she voted.”
Ms Foster is already making changes in the department, altering processes and doing away with Mr Pezzullo’s dreaded blue-pen directives for officers to hunt down answers to his questions.
If Ms Foster is confirmed as Home Affairs secretary, she will more than double her salary to a total package of about $930,000.
But she’ll have her work cut out taming the super department.
Former Victorian police chief Christine Nixon’s recent review into the exploitation of the visa system found weakness allowing “sexual exploitation, human trafficking and other organised crime”.
Governance failures allowing the corruption of the regional asylum-seeker processing system are also being examined by former ASIO, Defence and Foreign Affairs chief Dennis Richardson.
As Ms Foster told staff after Mr Pezzullo’s exit: “I know this will be a shock to many of you. It is important that we work closely together to continue the critical work of the organisation during this time.”
