Nigel Ray nominated for World Bank

The Morrison government has nominated former deputy Treasury secretary Nigel Ray for the post of World Bank executive director.

Mr Ray, who represents Australia at the International Monetary Fund, would begin a two-year term in November if the nomination is successful.

Before his IMF appointment, Mr Ray as deputy Treasury secretary advised on a wide range of matters relating to the economy and budget. He has served under prime ministers from Paul Keating to Malcolm Turnbull.

As head of Treasury's budget division during the global financial crisis, Mr Ray presented strong defences of the Rudd government's stance on fiscal policy and wrote a paper for the IMF endorsing the role of discretionary fiscal policy provided it was “clearly targeted at ameliorating temporary economic disruptions”.

"Because the current downturn has been triggered by such momentous global events, the Government has been able to foresee the need to act earlier than in some previous episodes,'' Mr Ray said in April 2009.

He said it was healthy for there to be debate on how much budget stimulus was appropriate.

He said the question of how much of the stimulus was saved or spent should should also include an analysis of what would have happened if the government had done nothing.

Last year Mr Ray, as Australia's executive director at the IMF, pushed back on the IMF's views on taxation reform, including the idea of removing some capital gains tax discounts.

"Limiting such deductions would represent a move away from a comprehensive income tax system and would run the risk of introducing higher costs and distortions into the tax system," Mr Ray said.

In the World Bank post, Mr Ray would represent a constituency of countries consisting of Australia, Cambodia, Kiribati, South Korea, Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Mongolia, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said Mr Ray had a "distinguished" career at the Commonwealth Treasury and was "eminently qualified for this role, having expertise in public policy and economic analysis".