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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 2 Hansard (25 February) . . Page.. 352 ..

MR STEFANIAK (continuing):

Perhaps Norm's interest in the international arena had its genesis in the 12-month secondment he secured, back in 1967, to the British Electricity Council. If that is so, he certainly put his interest to great future use, for the benefit of technical and further education. He was instrumental in creating a national marketing strategy for Australian TAFE. His was a strategy which highlighted the best parts of each State and Territory TAFE system, while marketing Australian TAFE as a national provider, within a cohesive, high-quality system.

Mr Speaker, after starting as a clerical officer in personnel in the State Electricity Commission of Victoria, in 1953 Norm gained his Victorian leaving certificate. In 1954 he became a clerk with the State Electricity Commission, Victorian power stations; and in 1957, a clerk with the State Electricity Commission, Victorian construction sites. In 1958 he obtained a Diploma in Public Administration from the Royal Melbourne Technical College. Between 1959 and 1963 Norm obtained a degree of Bachelor of Commerce with Honours from the University of Melbourne, majoring in public sector economics. In 1967 he had a 12-month secondment to the British Electricity Council. While he was studying, Norm met and married his wife, Maureen.

I was honoured to go to his funeral yesterday, Mr Speaker. A friend of Norm's since he was eight told a lovely story about when they were both young blokes. It was back in the 1950s. Norm had an ancient car, and they travelled overland from Melbourne to Sydney, going via the Snowy Mountains. Being fairly young, they both forgot to check the water. The car had great difficulty, even in first gear, in getting up a hill. They did not quite work out that the problem was, in fact, the water. To give an example of Norm's single-minded dedication, he was driving, and he turned the car around and went in reverse to get over the hill. When they went down the other side and ended up in Cooma, I think the car was pretty well wrecked because of the lack of water. I think that just shows Norm's dedication to the task at hand.

Mr Speaker, Norm finished at the State Electricity Commission of Victoria in 1967, and from 1967 through to 1973 he worked with the Commonwealth Bureau of Roads in Melbourne. The Fishers moved to Canberra in September 1973, when Norm began work with the Department of Urban and Regional Development. In December 1975 he moved to the Department of Environment, Housing and Community Development on his appointment as first assistant secretary. He pursued his already distinguished career in Canberra. He became founding director of the Bureau of Labour Market Research in July 1980. This move may have been the one that led him inexorably towards a position that was to be his last in the Public Service - founding director of the Canberra Institute of Technology.

In 1981 Norm was on loan to the Department of Territories and Local Government. In 1982 he became director of the Department of Employment and Industrial Relations and, in March 1985, acting deputy secretary of the Department of Education. He was promoted on 14 October 1985 to deputy secretary of the Department of Education. In 1986 Norm was invested as a Member of the Order of Australia "for public service in the fields of labour market research and public administration".

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