Nationality Australian Occupation Public servant | Spouse(s) Elaine Farmer Name Bill Farmer | |
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Full Name William John Farmer Alma mater University of Sydney
London School of Economics | ||
William John "Bill" Farmer AO is a retired senior Australian public servant and policymaker, best known for his time as Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs and for his career in the Australian diplomatic service.
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Background and early life
Bill Farmer graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours and from the London School of Economics with a Master of Science in Economics.
Career
Farmer started his public service career in the Department of External Affairs in 1969. His early Australian Public Service roles saw him serving in Cairo, London and Suva.
Between 1998 and 2005, Farmer was Secretary of the Australian immigration department, known as the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs when he was first appointed, and later called the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs. During this appointment he was often in the media spotlight, including during the Children Overboard affair in 2001, at the time of the unlawful detention of Cornelia Rau in 2004 and 2005, and during later inquiries.
When Farmer resigned from the immigration department, he told Prime Minister John Howard that a new Secretary was needed to drive change within the department. After his resignation, Farmer was appointed Australia's ambassador to Indonesia, replacing David Ritchie. The appointment was controversial, with Indonesian MP Djoko Susilo lodging his concern with the diplomatic posting. Media saw Farmer's appointment as "something of a reward... after service to the Howard government through many immigration controversies". However, in the post his initial appointment was extended by two years. While in Jakarta, Farmer assisted in negotiations to return a group of 78 Sri Lankan asylum seekers to Indonesia after they were apprehended by the Australian Customs vessel Oceanic Viking. He also helped to send Australian-funded relief aid to victims of the 2009 Sumatra earthquakes.
Farmer retired in 2010. In retirement, he headed an independent review of Australia's live animal export trade, tasked in June 2011 to examine the facilities, treatment and handling of livestock in Indonesia.
As at January 2015, he was a member of the Australian Board of Trustees for the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, overseeing the direction and management of fundraising in Australia for the organisation.
Awards
In June 2005 Farmer was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for service to the community through contributions to Australia's international relations and to major public policy development including domestic security, border systems, immigration, multicultural affairs and Indigenous service delivery. At the time Opposition health spokesman Julia Gillard said the recognition would "raise a question in people's minds," given cultural issues said to be an issue in the immigration department under Farmer's leadership.