David William Borthwick AO, PSM (born 26 December 1950) is an Australian former senior public servant and policymaker.
[1] Borthwick attended Monash University, gaining a Bachelor of Economics with First Class Honours.
[2][3] Borthwick moved to Canberra in 1973 to join the Australian Public Service as a graduate in the Department of the Treasury.
[7] He delivered his valedictory speech at the Australian War Memorial, telling his audience that public service agencies of the day were "so flat out, so stretched" they had "scant capacity to invest in serious thinking.
"[8] In June 2009 Borthwick was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for service to the development of environmental policy, particularly in relation to climate change, water allocation, emissions trading and heritage issues.