Applications invited for position for Director General of Transport

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Applications for the position of Director General of Transport in Western Australia are being invited from throughout Australia.

Transport Minister Eric Charlton said today Government policy required chief executive positions to be routinely advertised every five years.

Mr Charlton said the incumbent, Mr Stuart Hicks, would not be reapplying for the job.

The Minister said he regretted Mr Hicks' decision to vacate the office of Director General, but respected his wishes.

"Stuart Hicks has provided valuable leadership and a progressive vision for the co-ordination of transport in WA," Mr Charlton said.

"His recent initiative in establishing the Office of Road Safety within the Department of Transport is just one example of the significant benefits he has presided over in transport for the good of the whole community."

Mr Hicks was appointed chairman and chief executive of the MTT in 1985 and at the age of 35 he became one of the youngest senior public servants in WA.

In 1990 he was appointed Director General of Transport overseeing one of the biggest reform programs in this State.  Private sector transport, like aviation and trucking, have been deregulated and Government agencies such as Westrail, MetroBus and the port authorities have undergone modernisation programs to make them highly competitive and to eliminate big deficits.

Mr Hicks said by any measure, WA's transport system led the nation and the micro-economic reform process was well underway.

"I am grateful to have been involved and have enjoyed every minute of my time at the Department of Transport," he said.

Mr Charlton said that Mr Hicks was leaving the department in excellent shape.  It had developed into a formidable team co-ordinating a significant portfolio of activities and preparing essential transport strategies for WA.

The Minister said Mr Hicks would continue as chairman of the WA Coastal Shipping Commission and also the Air Freight Export Council of WA, and he had accepted an appointment to the WA Road Safety Steering Committee.

Media contact:  Ian Hasleby 321 7333