As a country, we’ve got a lot to be optimistic about but nothing we should be complacent about
Wayne Swan served as the Treasurer of Australia for nearly six years, including three years as Deputy Prime Minister.
He was one of the longest serving finance ministers in the G20 and was recognised as one of its leading contributors, drawing on his unique experience overseeing Australia’s economic outperformance among the developed world. Wayne Swan is an articulate and compelling speaker with a wealth of national and international experience.
Current Experience:
Mr Swan is the current member for Lilley. In June 2018 Wayne Swan was elected National President of the Australian Labor Party and currently serves as a Commissioner on the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation.
Previous Experience:
Politics: Wayne Swan was elected eight times as the Federal Member for Lilley and served as the Treasurer of Australia for nearly six years, including three years as Deputy Prime Minister. His focus as Treasurer was on strong, secure economic growth, job creation, and maximising the opportunities for Australia in the Asian Century. He was instrumental in the publication of the Asian Century White Paper - a blue print for Australia’s engagement in the region.
Wayne Swan was awarded Euromoney Finance Minister of the Year in 2011 for his ‘careful stewardship of Australia’s finances and economic performance’ during the global financial crisis. He was only the second Australian to receive this accolade and the first for almost 30 years. In 2015, he attended the UN General Assembly as a member of the Australian delegation.
Educator: Wayne Swan was a Senior Fellow at Yale University’s Institute for Global Affairs, teaching a series of seminars on political and economic reform in the 21st century with a focus on contemporary Australian experiences.
Author: Wayne Swan is the author of The Good Fight: Six Years, two prime ministers and staring down the Great Recession (2014). He has co-authored a report on Inclusive Prosperity, commissioned by the Center for American Progress and published a report on Financing for Development for the United Nations Social and Economic Commission in the Asia Pacific and chaired their Eminent Expert Group on Tax Policy and Public Expenditure Management for Sustainable Development.
Overall the delegation really enjoyed hearing from Mr Swan at the event...Mr Swan was in fact rated the best speaker on the programme! Very engaging and interesting presentation. ... keep reading CFO Summit
Wayne Swan's judgement and decisiveness, in international terms, must rank a high distinction.
Wayne Swan happened to inherit the treasurership of Australia a moment before the onset of the most significant financial crisis since the Depression. The measure of his treasurership is to be found in his ability to comprehend danger and act decisively to minimise it.
Swan deserves a spot on the treasurers' honour board purely for his surprisingly deft handling of stimulus spending and human confidence after the GFC, ensuring we suffered only the mildest of recessions. Aided by some in the media, his political opponents have had great success in rewriting that recent history. But later historians won't be deceived.
Virtually none of those Australians will ever know the role played by Swan, the RBA and others in ensuring they stayed in work, were able to pay off their mortgage, able to look after their kids, able to pay the bills and keep the economy and businesses ticking over. That is Swan’s biggest achievement as Treasurer.
