Spann Oration

The annual Spann Oration was inaugurated in honour of the memory of Professor Richard Neville Spann, who held the Chair of Government and Public Administration at Sydney University from 1954 to 1981. He worked extensively with State and Commonwealth Governments and was the Chairman of the Administrative Research Committee of the NSW State Public Service Board. He wrote several classic texts on government and public administration.

Professor Spann was a long time supporter of the Institute of Public Administration Australia and a prolific contributor to IPAA’s work. For example, he edited the then Public Administration, now the Australian Journal of Public Administration, for 20 years. As a prominent academic, writer and critic, Professor Spann made a great contribution to public administration in Australia.

By tradition, the specific topic of the Oration reflects on an aspect of public service administration selected by the Orator.

The Oration is usually held in the latter part of each year, and is made available at no charge to people working in the public sector, academics, and other interested members of the public.

Previous Orations

Year	Orator	Topic
2012	Anna Bligh	Dancing elephants and other tantalising possibilities
2011	Gary L. Sturgess AM	Deregulating the public service economy
2010	Gerry Gleeson AC FIPAA	If I were Premier of NSW in 2011
2009	Hon John Watkins, CEO, Alzheimer’s Australia NSW	The future public sector challenge: a bad moon rising
2008	Dr Peter Shergold AC, Director, Centre for Social Impact, UNSW	Collaboration for the Public Good? The State and the Third Sector
2007	Christine Nixon, Commissioner Victorian Police	Victoria Police: Future directions, past achievements
2006	Not held.
2005	Tim Costello AO, CEO, World Vision Australia (postponed – held 13 Feb 2006)	Rethinking common wealth: public administration and the public good
2004	Elizabeth Proust, Managing Director, Esanda	The future: challenges for leaders
2003	Prof. Allan Fels, AO	Competition Law and Policy: the wider lessons for government
2002	Not held.
2001	Not held due to National Conference.
2000	The Hon Patricia Staunton, AM Chief Magistrate NSW	Public Administration, Social Justice and the Law: an inevitable symbiosis
1999	Mr David Richmond Director General, Olympic Coordination Authority	The Olympics and Public Administration – Synergies and Challenges
1998	The Hon J J Spigelman	Foundations of Administration Law
1997	Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue, CBE, AM	The case for indigenous rights: reflecting on a contentious area of public administration
1996	The Hon Justice Michael Kirby, AC, CMG	Dick Spann’s Vision for Administrative Law - Have we achieved it?
1995	The Hon Susan Ryan Executive Director, Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia	Public Policy on the Provision of Social Infrastructure to the Year 2000 and Beyond
1994	The Hon Peter Collins, QC, MP NSW Treasurer & the Minister for the Arts	Public Sector/Private Sector Co-operation and Competition as the Government Prepares for the 21st Century
1993	Not held
1992	Not held
1991	The Hon John Dawkins, MP Federal Minister for Employment, Education and Training	Spending Other People’s Money (held as part of Ethics & Accountability Conference)
1990	Not held
1989	Mr Ian Temby, QC Commissioner, Independent Commission Against Corruption	Accountability and the Independent Commission Against Corruption
1988	Not held
1987	The Hon Roger Douglas New Zealand Minister for Finance	The Process of Corporatisation in Large State Enterprises
1986	Dr R B Cullen Managing Director, Capel Court Investment	Business, Government and Change - Managing Transitions in the Public and Private Sectors
1985	Mr Donald R Yeomans Chairman, Tariff Board of Canada	Canadian Developments in the Control of Public Expenditure
1984	Professor John Ward, AO Vice Chancellor, The University of Sydney	Government and the University
1983	Professor Aaron Wildavsky Department of Political Science University of California at Berkeley, USA	The Transformation of Budgetary Norms

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