NO.044

NOMINATION OF AUSTRALIAN ALTERNATE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO THE IMF

The Australian Government has decided to nominate Mr Richard Murray, a senior

official with the Commonwealth Treasury, for appointment as an Alternate Executive

Director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from March 2005 to October

2006.

On the acceptance of his nomination, Mr Murray will assist the Executive Director

in representing a constituency of countries within the IMF comprising Australia,

Kiribati, Korea, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Mongolia,

New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Seychelles, Solomon

Islands and Vanuatu. Alternate Executive Directors are employees of the IMF

and their salaries and other allowances are met by the Fund.

The Australian Government intends that Mr Murray would be nominated by Australia

to fill the position of Executive Director for a two year period when it becomes

vacant in November 2006.

Australia has been a member of the IMF since 1947. The IMF is an organisation

of 184 member countries, established to promote international monetary cooperation

and exchange stability, to foster economic and employment growth; and to provide

temporary financial assistance to countries under adequate safeguards to help

ease balance of payments adjustment. Following the financial crises of 1997

98 a key task of the IMF has been to strengthen the stability of the international

financial system and to review its future role and operations.

Mr Murray is a highly experienced Treasury officer who has held various senior

executive positions in the Treasury covering macroeconomic forecasting, infrastructure

and competition policy, banking and finance, taxation policy, international

economy, foreign investment, budget policy and debt management. Mr Murray was

also the Treasury representative at the Australian High Commission, London (1993

96), Executive Member of the Foreign Investment Review Board (1998), and head

of the Treasury’s Domestic Economy Division (1998-2000). In 2000, Mr Murray

moved to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet as head of its Economic

Division. He returned to the Treasury as Chief Adviser (Strategy) in 2001 and

was promoted to his current position as head of the new Fiscal Group in July

2002.

CANBERRA

31 May 2004

Contact: Amanda Kennedy

02 6277 7340