Chamber of Minerals and Energy boss Rebecca Tomkinson appointed State Government’s trade ambassador in London

Rebecca Tomkinson — the head of WA’s peak resource body — has been appointed as the State Government’s new trade ambassador in London. Premier Roger Cook made the bombshell announcement on Tuesday that Ms Tomkinson would take up the highly paid London-based role, vacated last year by former under Treasurer John Langoulant. A review aimed at the pay and conditions for the colonial era role maintained, but reduced most pay and conditions, including a base salary of $360,000 and a $19,000 a month apartment in London, Mr Cook said. Ms Tomkinson will also have 10 fewer days of annual leave compared to Mr Langoulant. The Agent General’s right to business class tickets to fly anywhere in the world have also been scrapped. Instead, Ms Tomkinson will have just one return flight to Perth she will be able to use each year. That followed The West Australian’s revelation that Mr Langoulant used the tickets to fly with his wife twice to the United States within a month while Agent General, which Mr Cook said failed to meet community expectations. “It’s obviously a position which has higher levels of seniority and obligations in terms of the contact of their business,” he said. “We looked at, for instance, other like positions in Western Australia, other agent general roles from from around the country, but also equivalent sort of levels of responsibility which a DFAT officer would enjoy, and that’s why they’ve come out of that at that particular range.” “Ms Tomkinson has demonstrated significant leadership and policy expertise across a range of industry sectors that are vital to the State’s economic development, including most recently at the Chamber of Minerals and Energy,” Mr Cook said. “The UK and Europe are critical to the diversification and decarbonisation of our State’s economy, with strong interest in a number of sectors, including energy mining but particularly defense industries.” Ms Tomkinson, who was the Royal Flying Doctor Service chief executive before her time at CME, said she was honoured to take on the role of Agent General. “It has been a privilege to lead CME and work alongside such a dedicated team and committed industry,” she said. “Western Australia plays a unique and critical role on the global stage and I look forward to continuing to champion our State’s strengths, capability and ambition through this new role.” Ms Tomkinson’s departure from the CME opens a powerful vacancy at the body, which last month was singled out by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as central to negotiations over Labor’s next attempt at nature positive laws. CME president Simon Trott said Ms Tomkinson would step down in September, with a formal recruitment process to start shortly. Insiders suggested Association of Mining and Exploration Companies boss Warren Pearce — who is understood to have previously applied for the role — was a frontrunner. Also tipped are former Liontown corporate affairs boss Robert Carruthers. Mr Cook also announced a range of other senior public sector appointments, including Queensland’s Under Treasurer Michael Carey, who will become director general of the Premier and Cabinet Department. Other interstate appointments include NSW Treasury deputy secretary Joann Wilkie as WA’s first female Under Treasurer, and Queensland’s deputy director general for tourism Chad Anderson to lead the new Department of Creative Industries, Tourism and Sport. The interstate appointments came after the Salaries and Allowances Tribunal last year dramatically increased the pay for senior fat cats, to as high as $528,000, in order to draw more applications from outside of WA. “I don’t know if that’s the reason why they applied for the jobs . . . but if, for if it was a salary as well as the opportunities that comes from working in the one of the strongest economies in the country, well, I’m really excited about that,” Mr Cook said.