Michael is the principal economic and financial adviser to the State Government, with statutory responsibilities for the management and reporting of the State’s finances, including formulation of the annual State Budget. As Under Treasurer, he is also responsible for leading the Western Australian Department of Treasury.
Born and raised in Perth, Michael moved to Canberra after graduating from university to take up a position in the Commonwealth Treasury, where he worked for nearly six years, mainly in the area of taxation policy. Michael returned to Perth in late 1997 and has been working at the State Treasury ever since, in various roles spanning revenue policy, economic and revenue forecasting, Commonwealth-State financial relations, fiscal strategy, and whole-of-government financial reporting.
Michael was appointed to the role of Under Treasurer in April 2015. He is also Chair of the Western Australian Treasury Corporation, which is the State’s central borrowing authority, and is a Board member of Infrastructure WA.
Mr Barnes was awarded the Public Service Medal in 2020 for his outstanding public service to State Government finances in Western Australia, and was the Institute of Public Administration's Leader of the Year in State or Federal Government in 2022.
