Mr Hamilton's job is to deliver on these promises while making sure that Education Minister Mary Delahunty gets the credit. Already he has encountered resistance. Some critics are suspicious that Mr Hamilton is a political appointee, too close to Labor. I was a senior officer under both Labor and Liberal governments and I would hope people would see that professional public servants are capable of serving government of different persuasions. Another issue for Mr Hamilton is his lack of experience in the Victorian school system.
Teachers can be distrustful of career bureaucrats.
My capacity and background is in running large organisations in the public sector, an understanding of broad issues of public interest and public policy, relations between levels of government, issues of good process, how to get outcomes. Those things are transferable. I've spent five years as head of the federal Department of Health, three years as head of the federal Department of Environment, four years working for universities. Mr Hamilton, most recently executive director of the Australian Vice-Chancellor's Committee, says his main responsibility is to ensure that the Education Department can give the government good advice and deliver good education outcomes. You can call it anything, really.