Paul Hunter Barratt AO (19 March 1944 – 3 October 2021) was a senior Australian public servant, policymaker and peace activist.
Paul Barratt was born in 1944 and two years later his family moved to Armidale, when his father was offered a position with the University of New England.
[8][9] Between 1974 and 1985, Barratt was a Deputy Secretary in the Department of Trade and accompanied Prime Minister Bob Hawke on his February 1984 visit to China.
[8] In 1996, Barratt rejoined the Australian Public Service as Secretary of the Department of Primary Industries and Energy,[11] offered the role by Prime Minister John Howard, on the recommendation of Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson.
He was successful in establishing that a Department Secretary has a right to be heard before termination of his/her appointment, but in March 2000 the Federal Court rejected an appeal in relation to the nature of that hearing.