Michael Coutts-Trotter
| Michael Coutts-Trotter | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Alma mater | University of Technology, Sydney |
| Occupation | Public servant |
| Employer | New South Wales Government |
| Organization | Department of Family and Community Services |
| Spouse(s) | Tanya Plibersek MP |
Michael Coutts-Trotter, an Australian public servant, is the Secretary of the New South Wales Department of Family and Community Services, since July 2013.
Coutts-Trotter is married to Tanya Plibersek MP, a Labor politician and the federal Deputy Leader of the Opposition. They have 3 children together; Anna (16), Joseph (12), and Louis (6).
Coutts-Trotter served three years of a nine-year prison sentence after being convicted for the importation and distribution of heroin into Australia in 1986.
Coutts-Trotter matriculated from Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview and the University of Technology, Sydney, with a degree in journalism.
He was Director-General of the NSW Department of Commerce from 2004 to 2007, and Chief of Staff to the New South Wales Treasurer from 1998 to 2004.
Coutts-Trotter was controversially appointed Director-General of the New South Wales Department of Education and Training in April 2007.
His appointment to lead the Department of Education and Training was criticized by opposition members of Parliament, the NSW Teachers Federation and the Public Principals Forum for his lack of experience in teaching and education and his criminal conviction as a heroin trafficker.
The Teachers Federation also questioned his criminal past and time spent in prison for heroin dealing ; with the Federation's president, Maree O'Halloran, saying that a teacher with his criminal background would be unable to continue teaching.
Appointing him as Director-General of the Department of Finance and Services in April 2011, the NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell said that Coutts-Trotter's skills would allow this new department to deliver on its results. It was reported in July 2013, upon his appointment to lead the Department of Family and Community Services, that Coutts-Trotter's new role was a demotion. Following the report the NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell held a media conference to reject the suggestion.
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