Professor John Phillimore to be inducted into the Roll Of Excellence

Congratulations to Professor John Phillimore who will be inducted into this year's Roll Of Excellence in the Achievers category.

Little Athletics career:

WA Little Athletics:

1969/70 – 1970/71 Melville Little Athletics Centre.

1971/72 – 1972/73 Rockingham Districts Little Athletics Centre.

State Track & Field Championships:

1972 Titleholder U12 – 100 metres / 400 metres.

Record holder U12 – 400 metres.

John held the record for the U12 – 400 metres until 1973.

Highlights:

1972 Boys Captain of the WA State Team.

I loved Little Athletics (or ‘Little Aths’, as we used to call it). I was in the first group of kids from Rockingham who used to make the weekly trip up to Tompkins Park in Melville when I was 9 years old. It was an adventure; a great chance to spend time with the other kids and their parents and our teacher who initiated our involvement. It certainly widened our horizons. The first KFC in Perth was established across the road from the Park, which was probably no coincidence!

I remember winning a few races, but I also remember being disqualified 20m from the end of a walk race when I was leading (I can still remember the judges calling out ‘heel-toe, heel-toe’ to remind us of the rules), so I got used to disappointment too! When Rockingham got its own centre, my family became even more involved.

Little Aths was not just the events on Saturday mornings, but also the training (twice a week), helping out at the canteen, hanging around and talking to your friends while waiting for our turn to race or throw or jump, plus long car trips to championships in the country or in the city. Parents and coaches were so dedicated, and I am so grateful for all their hard work.

Making the state team was a big thrill, and being made boys’ captain an even bigger one. It gave me leadership experience and my first ever TV interview! We competed in Perth which meant I didn’t get to go in a plane, which was a bit disappointing (I had to wait til I was 17 to do that!), but it was still a great experience. I kept my state bag for years afterwards!

I continued in athletics for a few more years, competing for Rockingham at Perry Lakes until I was about 15, and I also had one good year at the PSA championships for Christ Church Grammar School where I won 3 events and a relay. But then I stopped growing and was lucky to make the relay team by year 12.

Although I never scaled the giddy heights of state teams after my Little Aths experience, I played footy and cricket at Uni and I’m sure my involvement in sport and in other extra-curricular activities at school and uni helped convince the Rhodes Scholarship selection committee that I was an all-rounder and not just focused on study.

My two children both did Little Athletics for a couple of years in Dianella. My son made the state final of the 400m in the U/12s, but couldn’t quite emulate his dad’s feats. But I think the competition was a bit tougher by then!

Post Little Athletics Career:

Occupation:

Current: Executive Director and Professor, John Curtin Institute of Public Policy (JCIPP), Curtin University (since 2007).

Previous positions:

· 1983 - 1984 Graduate Trainee, Treasury Department, WA Government.

· 1984 - 1987 Policy Advisor, Office of Mal Bryce MLA, Deputy Premier and Minister for Technology, WA Government.

· 1991 - 2000 Lecturer / Senior Lecturer, Institute for Sustainability and Technology Policy, Murdoch University.

· 2001 – 2004 Chief of Staff to Tom Stephens MLC. Minister for Housing and Works; Local Government & Regional Development; Heritage; WA Government.

· 2004 -2005 Policy Advisor to Ljiljanna Ravlich MLC. Minister for Local Government and Regional Development; Minister for Education & Training; WA Government.

· 2005 – 2006 Director, Commonwealth – State Relations, Policy Division, Department of the Premier and Cabinet (DPC), WA Government.

· 2006 – 2007 Director, Intergovernmental Relations Unit (IGRU), Department of the Premier and Cabinet (DPC), WA Government.

· 2007 – Present Executive Director, John Curtin Institute of Public Policy (JCIPP), Curtin University.

Academic Qualifications:

· 1978 - 1980 Bachelor of Arts, majoring in History and Politics, University of Western Australia.

· 1981 - 1983 Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honours) in Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE), Magdalen College, Oxford University, UK.

· 1987 - 1988 MSc, Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU), University of Sussex, UK.

· 1988 - 1991 D.Phil. (PhD), Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU), University of Sussex, UK (Awarded in 1996).

Scholarships and Prizes:

· 1981 Rhodes Scholarship, Western Australia.

· 1987 Commonwealth Scholarship to the University of Sussex England.

Note:

Rhodes Scholarships were established in 1902 at the University of Oxford in England. The Rhodes Scholarships have become the most prestigious awards for international study offered to students with approximately 90 candidates selected worldwide each year. In Australia, one scholar is selected from each state, plus three additional scholars nationwide each year.

Comments:

At Curtin, Professor Phillimore works on a range of public policy issues including federalism, higher education, social policy, innovation policy, and program evaluation. He has conducted contract research and consultancy projects for a range of international, Australian, state and local agencies.

He has published widely in academic journals and books and has also conducted numerous contract research projects for government and other clients. John is also a regular media commentator on Australian politics.

Other Information:

John Phillimore has degrees in politics and economics from Western Australia and Oxford, and a Masters and Doctorate from the University of Sussex. He was Western Australia’s 1981 Rhodes Scholar. From 1991 to 2001, he was an academic at Murdoch University’s Institute for Sustainability and Technology Policy. He joined Curtin University in 2007 where he is the Executive Director of the John Curtin Institute of Public Policy and also manages the research program for the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education.

John also has many years’ experience in senior government positions in Western Australia. He was chief of staff and adviser to a number of State government ministers in 1984-87 and 2001-05; and in 2005-2007 he headed intergovernmental relations in the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, advising the Premier and senior ministers in advance of COAG meetings and other federalism issues.