Sceptics Question Record of Next Australian Ambassador to the US

The appointment of the head of the Department of Defence, Greg Moriarty, as Australia’s ambassador to the United States is not without contention.

Secretary of the Department of Defence Greg Moriarty speaks at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on March 24, 2021. Sam Mooy/Getty Images

The appointment of Greg Moriarty as Australia’s next ambassador to the United States, replacing Kevin Rudd, has not been without his sceptics.

A former chief of staff to Malcolm Turnbull, Moriarty was also Australia’s envoy to Iran and Indonesia, and has led the Defence Department since 2017.

He’s no stranger to conflict, having been the country’s first counter-terrorism coordinator, represented Australia in Papua New Guinea and been a negotiator with the peace monitoring group in Bougainville.

He’s also previously been attached to the U.S. Central Command in the Gulf during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

Both Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Sussan Ley praised Moriarty when the appointment was announced.

Albanese called him an “outstanding Australian public servant” and noted he'd made his choice only after having “engaged broadly in discussions about who the right person was.”

Ley called him “a safe pair of hands to advance Australia’s interest,” while one of her predecessors, Tony Abbott, called Moriarty’s skills as a chief of staff “saintly.”

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said he had “unsurpassed credentials across Australia’s international policy.”

His immediate predecessor, who will leave the post at the end of March, said in a statement that he was “delighted” by Moriarty’s appointment.

“He is deeply familiar with AUKUS and will be a critical leader in driving AUKUS to implementation,” Kevin Rudd said. “This relationship could be in no better hands.”

But the 61-year-old’s appointment has divided outside observers.

Professorial fellow at the University of Canberra, Michelle Grattan, called him a “cautious choice.”

More blunt in their opposition were figures like former senator and submariner Rex Patrick, who wrote, “I’m trying to recall Secretary Greg Moriarty’s finest hour. Was it signing the $45 billion (up from $35 billion) contract for nine Hunter Class frigates (downgraded to six frigates for the same $45 billion) or his judgement in hiring RoboDebt’s Kathryn Campbell for $900,000 [per annum]?”

The Robodebt Royal Commission made adverse findings against several senior public servants, including Campbell in her role at the time as Secretary of the Department of Human Services.

She was also one of 12 senior public servants who were found to have breached the code of conduct 97 times during their involvement in Robodebt by an Australian Public Service Commission taskforce.

Despite that, Moriarty appointed her as an advisor for the AUKUS programme.

Greens MP David Shoebridge, who‘d previously questioned Moriarty on the Hunter frigates, has also been blunt in his criticism, writing, “My favourite fail from Moriarty is the $45 billion Hunter Frigate scandal. Under him, Defence didn’t assess the project for value for money and ’lost' the records explaining why they chose the UK’s BAE to deliver it … but there are so many it’s hard to choose.”

The Australian National Audit Office found in 2023 that “Defence’s procurement process and related advisory processes lacked a value for money focus, and key records, including the rationale for the procurement approach, were not retained.

“Contract expenditure to date has not been effective in delivering on project milestones, and the project is experiencing an 18-month delay and additional costs ...”