NBN overseer retires from Conroy's department

The Department of Communications has been forced to replace its infrastructure group deputy secretary Colin Lyons who will retire from the public service at the end of the month.

Lyons would be replaced by Daryl Quinlivan, currently a deputy secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

Lyons joined the Communications Department in 1981. He most recently had responsibility for implementing the national broadband network initiative.

He was also a 2004 public service medal recipient for his work "developing and implementing new accounting separation arrangements for Telstra" [PDF] and improvements in telecommunications regulation generally.

Lyons trained as a lawyer and had managed the Department's legal area in the past.