Professor Brendan Murphy is expected to retire from his role as health department secretary. The bushy-browed top doctor — the first doctor in more than 30 years to hold the political position — rose to fame for leading Australia through the pandemic as Australia’s chief medical officer before being promoted in June 2020.
He denied as early as last week that retirement was on his mind, arguing there was a lot more work to be done on non-COVID-19 health reform.
“I have no plans to move on at the moment,” he told The Canberra Times.
“Idle speculation in the misinformed media has suggested that, but I’m enjoying my role. In fact I’m very keen to do some non-COVID health reform work. I’ve got a really vibrant and strong department, a good executive team and I’ve got no plans to go anywhere.”
A lot can change in a week, apparently. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to appoint several new secretaries to run key government departments in a shake-up of top jobs.
Not much is known about the notoriously private Murphy and his political connections. He’s been painted as a fiercely intelligent, cheery man — who is also incredibly clumsy in the lab.
He was lauded for his clear communication style during the first few months of the pandemic, and last week was appointed Companion of the Order of Australia for his service to medical administration and community health.
But as the pandemic dragged on, he also faced fierce criticism and was accused of being former prime minister Scott Morrison’s mouthpiece. Murphy refused to answer questions in the Senate about medical advice given to the government, refused to release a list of aged care facilities in Victoria that were battling COVID-19 outbreaks, and incorrectly claimed Australia’s COVID-19 testing was “probably the best in the world”.
There were also concerns about the independence of the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, which advised Murphy, and the secrecy of the advice he gave to the government in the National Cabinet under strict secrecy provisions.
Murphy has rejected the idea his role has been politicised. “As a public servant we serve the government of the day and support them. I’ve never felt in any way politicised,” he said.
“I don’t think anyone seriously thinks that I’ve become politicised. I reject that assertion completely.
“I’ve got a really good relationship with the new government, and we’re happy to work with [Anthony Albanese] and implement their agenda.”
Murphy also bore some of the blame for Australia’s slow vaccine rollout and coined the term “not a race” — first to discuss the approval process for each vaccine, only to use it to describe the vaccine rollout as a whole.
Criticisms aside, Murphy had the challenging role of becoming the face of Australia’s pandemic response, addressing the public almost daily on changing medical advice, outbreaks and vaccine efficacy.
The government shake-up is expected to be announced in the coming days.
