On Friday, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced the appointment of Brendan Pearson, who most recently worked as an industry, trade and investment senior adviser in the Prime Minister’s office.
As well as working as counsellor (trade policy) at the Australian embassy in Washington, Mr Pearson has also held a number of senior trade roles in Australia, including chief executive of the Minerals Council of Australia and Peabody Energy.
Mr Pearson will replace outgoing ambassador Alexander Robson who has held the position since 2019.
“The OECD performs an important role in developing and promoting global best practice on economic and governance matters of direct relevance to Australia. It is a trusted and credible leader in economic research, analysis, and policy advice,” Mr Frydenberg said.
“Australia benefits from the OECD’s work in areas such as trade, health, employment, agriculture, overseas development assistance, energy, education, digital economy, and environment policy.
“We are also working with the OECD to support its increased engagement in the Indo-Pacific region. The OECD is well placed to support the work of regional forums such as APEC and ASEAN, as well as international forums like the G20, and to promote an open, rules-based multilateral trading system.”
Earlier this week, the OECD said the Australian economy can make a strong rebound should the government create suitable tax conditions.
It forecast growth of over 3 per cent for both 2021 and 2022 and expects GDP growth to pick up to 4.0 per cent in 2021 GDP followed by 3.3 per cent in 2022.
