The Honourable Peter Costello AC

Peter Costello (LLB (Hons) 1980, BA 1982) is Managing Director of BKK Partners Pty Ltd, a corporate advisory firm, which he joined in November 2009 after serving more than 19 years in the Australian Parliament.

The former lawyer was Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Australia from March 1996 to December 2007 - a record term.

As Treasurer Mr Costello was responsible for foreign investment policy, competition (anti-trust) policy, corporate regulation, superannuation, and tax policy. He also brought down 12 Federal Budgets..

Mr Costello set up Australia’s system of financial regulation. He also introduced Australia’s monetary policy targets by agreement with the Reserve Bank of Australia.

For more than a decade Mr Costello was a Governor of the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. He was also a member of the Committee of the International Monetary Fund.

He has been Chairman of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Ministerial and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Finance Ministers and was involved in the establishment of the Group of Twenty (G-20).

Mr Costello has written for Australia’s Fairfax and News Limited papers and has been published in the Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Mr Costello is currently a member of the Independent Advisory Board of the World Bank, which advises on transparency and anti-corruption measures, and a Guardian of Australia’s Future Fund.

In 2011, Mr Costello was awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia "for eminent service to the Parliament of Australia, particularly through the development of landmark economic policy reforms in the areas of taxation, foreign investment, superannuation and corporate regulation, and through representative roles with global financial organisations".

In March 2012, he was announced as the head of the Queensland Government's Commission of Audit.