One of the most senior public watchdogs in the land, Peter Achterstraat, reflects on his student days at ANU.

If you suffer from career ladder vertigo, it’s advisable not to dwell too long on Peter Achterstraat’s CV. The graduate from the ANU College of Business and Economics has been the Deputy Commissioner of Taxation for the Commonwealth, Chief Commissioner of State Revenue for New South Wales, and is currently the NSW Auditor-General. You might expect someone who has occupied such senior leadership to come across as remote, perhaps even haughty. Not so Achterstraat, whose stated career philosophy hinges on an unassuming word: humility. In any case, he’d much sooner talk about another legacy created during his student days in Canberra.

“My girlfriend at the time, who is now my wife, lived at Toad Hall at ANU,” Achterstraat says. “I used to walk across from Garran Hall, where I lived. At the time, they were putting the stepping stones across Sullivans Creek. I’m a very conservative person, and I don’t think I ever want to do anything wrong. But I did one thing wrong, which I don’t mind telling you. These stepping stones between the gymnasium and Toad Hall, they were all wet concrete. They set them on a day when there was no water running. I wrote my full name in the concrete. 25 years later I showed my kids. They said, ‘Dad, you never do anything wrong. This is a very bad thing’.” He laughs at the memory.

Though the signature stepping stones have since been removed from Sullivans Creek, Achterstraat’s time as an economics and law student at the University have been marked in other ways. Describing himself as a conscientious student, the young scholar won a number of plaudits, including the Australian Finance Conference (AFC) Prize for Company Finance. Years later, as Chief Commissioner for State Revenue, he recalls being asked to speak at the annual general meeting of the AFC. “I said to them, ‘I think I received my first pay cheque from the AFC before anyone in this room’. They were all shaking their heads. When I revealed that the AFC sponsored an undergraduates award at ANU and that I got $100 from them, they were all were surprised and said they must continue the prize.”

Achterstraat, a committed Christian, says he places a lot of importance on his personal and professional relationships. While a student, he says it was the one-on-one learning opportunities afforded by tutorials that he enjoyed most, even if there was an element of coercion involved. “Like a typical male, if I’m forced to do something I’ll do it. With the tutorials, you really had to read up and prepare. Particularly the law ones if you wanted to participate in the discussions and conversations. I came back for a year and taught tutorials at the Law Faculty for a year in taxation law. I enjoyed seeing the academic process from the other side too.”

When he graduated from his Bachelor of Laws degree in 1978, Achterstraat took up a graduate position with the Federal Department of Finance. He says his first choice, the Australian Taxation Office, was concentrating on recruiting people with accounting qualifications that year. Undeterred, Achterstraat studied accounting part-time at ANU and eventually secured a spot at the ATO. So why this interest in something that most people only think about as a bothersome duty?

“I enjoyed the tax law study and really wanted to get involved in taxation. Taxation appealed to me because it was analytical, involving problem solving, but numbers were involved in it. It was the type of law that I was naturally attracted to, rather than criminal law, which had more of a social emphasis.”

His passion for all things taxation paid off when Achterstraat was named Deputy Commissioner of Taxation. His career veered in a different direction, away from its former technical focus to take on more elements of management. How did the 34-year-old bureaucrat cope when he had to supervise 1,000 staff members? Well enough, he says, describing leadership as a matter of common sense.

“Fortunately, I’ve always been lucky that the people who’ve worked in my teams have always wanted to do their best and they’re always good operators. But when it comes to being a leader, the key is to understand and empathise with people, whether they’re colleagues or clients.”

In 1999, Achterstraat became the Chief Commissioner of State Revenue in NSW, before switching to the role of Auditor-General in 2006. He says the move from the ATO was like switching from being first mate on a very big ship to being the captain of a smaller vessel. But as any captain knows, the person steering the ship also tends to attract the most scrutiny. In his current role as one of the major public watchdogs in NSW, barely a week goes by when Achterstraat’s name isn’t in the media, whether it’s delivering a report on the homelessness sector or another on the pressures on nurses in public hospitals.

“In the tax office, the media scrutiny often appeared in the context in which the public would have thought we weren’t trying to be constructive. I hope that now people see this current role as being much more constructive. We’re here to assist and encourage accountability.”

Achterstraat says the security of tenure that accompanies his role as a public auditor means he can be “frank and fearless”. Ever a stickler for due process, he is well aware of the legislation that defines the boundaries of his role. But he also confesses to relishing the opportunities to shine a spotlight on areas where public mechanisms are failing society.

In NSW, Auditors-General must retire after a seven year stint. Achterstraat says he’ll only be 58 when that milestone comes around, so he’ll want to take his career in a new direction. While he looks forward with anticipation, he looks backward to his student days with appreciation.

“When I was in Canberra, I assumed that ANU was just like any other university. It was the university in the capital, and that was that. It wasn’t until I moved out of Canberra that I realised the high reputation that the University has, so I’m so very pleased to have been there. It’s very highly regarded by the people I encounter.”

ANU College of Business & Economics Hall of Fame: http://cbe.anu.edu.au/Alumni/Hall_of_Fame/

Auditor-General of New South Wales: www.audit.nsw.gov.au

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ANU Reporter 
Winter 2007