Maxwell William Moore-Wilton AC (born 27 January 1943) is an Australian corporate executive and former public servant, colloquially known as "Max the Axe".
[2] He also oversaw the passing of the Public Service Act, 1999 (Cth), which gave the Prime Minister the power to hire and fire heads of departments.
[9] Moore-Wilton's approach as departmental secretary may be encapsulated in an address he gave in 1999 to the Institute of Public Administration Australia:[10] Ministers and Departments do have an obligation not just to achieve the bottom line that is often the key outcome sought by private companies.
Ensuring the transparency of our processes can focus our minds on the need for each individual decision we take to be justifiable in terms of strict propriety.In announcing Moore-Wilton's resignation from the Australian Public Service, with effect from 20 December 2002, Prime Minister Howard reflected on Moore-Wilton's contributions:[11] He has oversighted a remarkable period of change for the Public Service which has radically improved its efficiency, effectiveness and relevance.
Other notable achievements include Mr Moore-Wilton's coordination of the Commonwealth's involvement in the 2000 Olympic Games and his active and effective chairmanship of the senior officers Committee that provides advice to the Council of Australian Governments.
In each particular case we thoroughly investigated them and it comes generally within the context of some of these incidents where a whole series of events come together and in the immortal words of someone whose identity I cannot recall "S-H-I-T happens";"[15][16][17] Moore-Wilton's comments drew widespread criticism, with a British politician calling them "an insult to the memory of a loving mother and wife.