“The Opera House is focused on being a welcoming place that offers something for everyone.”

McDaniel’s appointment comes as the Opera House’s chief executive, Louise Herron, was shortlisted for the position of chair of the ABC. The job eventually went to the veteran media executive, the former News Corp boss and Opera House chair, Kim Williams.

“ABC is such an important cultural institution, and I wish Kim Williams the best in the role,” Herron told the Herald.

Herron flagged to staff after the Opera House’s 50th-anniversary celebrations last year that 2024 would be an appropriate time to pass the baton to a new CEO. Asked about her future intentions, on Friday she confirmed: “I am considering my options for the future. First and foremost, I’m committed to a smooth transition for our new chair, Michael McDaniel.”

McDaniel’s appointment is among several confirmed by Labor’s arts minister John Graham following the adoption of the Minns government’s newly minted arts and creative industries’ framework prioritising First Nations’ voices and generational change.

Graham said McDaniel’s appointment was a significant moment in the state’s cultural life.

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“He’s impeccably credentialed. He’s someone who I expect will play a bigger public role over time,” Graham said. “This is a significant step forward in making sure that those unique stories that are unique to this continent are being told and reflected properly.”

Sydney Writers’ Festival chief executive Brooke Webb has joined the Library Council of NSW, with Victoria Weekes and Kay Delahunt also reappointed. Webb said libraries were guardians and central hubs of storytelling.

McDaniel said the Sydney Opera House’s 50th anniversary reinforced how deeply Australians and the international community care for the Sydney Opera House.

“My memories of the Opera House date back to the early 1970s, when I was part of a group of Darlinghurst Public School students on an excursion to the Opera House when it was still a construction site, and then standing outside my grandmother’s apartment in Paddington watching the fireworks that marked the Opera House’s opening,” he said.

Herron said McDaniel was one of the most impressive leaders she knew and had significantly contributed to the cultural and education sectors and community over more than three decades.

Brian Hartzer has been reappointed president of the Australian Museum Trust, and Professor Kathy Belov and Shauna Jarrett have been reappointed as trustees.

As the Powerhouse Museum at Ultimo prepares to close for three years, the term of trust president Peter Collins has been extended six months, as has that of developer Lang Walker.

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