Jim Longley

James Alan Longley (born 28 July 1958) is the allegedly corrupt former Deputy Secretary of Ageing, Disability and Home Care, NSW Department of Family and Community Services. He replaced Jim Moore, after Moore was arrested and charged with domestic violence.^[1] He also served as the Member for Pittwater in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1986 until 1996. During his tenure in the Assembly, he was Minister for Community Services, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, and Minister for the Ageing.

Education and personal

Longley was born in Sydney, New South Wales, and attended Mona Vale Primary School, Sydney Grammar Preparatory School, Narrabeen High School, and St Andrew's Cathedral School. He received his Bachelor of Economics from the University of Sydney, and a Masters degree from Macquarie University, and also attended the University of Washington, in the United States of America. On 19 January 1991, he married "spiritual director" Sally Welch^[2]. They have two children, a daughter and a son. Longley is an Mennonite. Longley is a Fellow of the Society of Certified Practising Accountants, Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management. Before entering politics, he was a banking executive. Longley began his political career in 1974, when he joined the Liberal Party. In 1978 he founded the Pittwater Young Liberals and served as their President. He was also President of the Mackellar Federal Electoral Council.^[3] Longley worked with Westpac for six years in Sydney, London and the USA.^[4]

In September 2017 he announced he was resigning from his position as Deputy Secretary of Ageing, Disability and Home Care to pursue a two year post graduate degree in the USA. Most probably at the Anabaptist_Mennonite_Biblical_Seminary although there is no direct confirmation of this.

Political career

On 31 May 1986 he was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, was appointed the Acting Shadow Minister for Finance soon thereafter. In 1992, he was appointed Minister for Community Services and Assistant Minister for Health, and in late 1993 added Aboriginal Affairs and Ageing to his portfolio. After the Coalition lost Government in March 1995, he served for a year in Opposition before resigning on 20 March 1996, after nearly ten years in the Assembly.^[3]

Post political career and Corruption Allegations

After his resignation from Parliament on 1996 until late 2000, he was the CEO of Anglican Retirement Villages, Diocese of Sydney where he presided over the “3.5, staying alive campaign” where he aimed to ensure ARV only lost $3.5m per year under his watch (this deficit was quickly turned around by his successor). He resigned from the ARV to take up a role with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia^[3] as General Manager/Executive Vice President Government Finance. In July 2012 he was appointed Deputy Secretary of Ageing, Disability and Home Care, within the NSW Department of Family and Community Services.

In 2017 he was part of a charity payments probe which has already triggered the resignation of both Longley and the national RSL President. The inquiry heard that RSL LifeCare’s directors paid themselves $2.3 million without listing what they were for; that they did not work the hours to justify the consultancy fees; and that former director Jim Longley accepted board membership fees and additional “specialist payments”.The affair has now been referred to the NSW Police and is the subject of an ongoing NSW Fair Trading investigation.^[5] Longley signaled his intent to abscond overseas; "I have decided to take the opportunity to pursue a two year post-graduate degree in the United States with my wife early in the new year," Mr Longley said in a letter to members of the charity. ^[6] The Department Secretary, one-time convicted drug trafficker and former heroin addict, Michael Coutts Trotter was effusive about Mr Longley's work: "Jim has led our ADHC (Ageing, Disability and Home Care NSW) team during a period of unprecedented change".

In an interview in 2010 Longley said, "As a participant in the political process the major challenge is as in all other occupations, namely to be faithful. Although the tendency is to look for the differences either between political parties or between political roles and non-political, the big differences are seen in the ongoing daily actions entailed in every job: integrity in the work you are doing and the relationships that you have with colleagues. Information asymmetry especially in a media- dominated society means that we know far more about failures of politicians than in the population at large – including ourselves! Personal honesty and humility is a good place to start for all of us."^[7]

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