“At no stage did I directly or indirectly encourage the public service to appoint Mr Barilaro. That decision was made independently of me as minister. To suggest anything else is plainly false,” Ayres said on Monday.
Parliament last year heard Barilaro was appointed to the $500,000-a-year role in early 2021,despite senior public servant Jenny West having already been offered the job,which was one of five global trade commissioner roles created by Barilaro when he was trade minister.
As public sector appointments,ministers were to play no role in the recruitment,interviewing or selection of candidates for the roles.
NSW Labor Leader Chris Minns with senior Labor upper house MPs Penny Sharpe and Daniel Mookhey,who led the inquiry.Credit:Edwina Pickles
West’s offer was rescinded before Barilaro later applied and was appointed to the post,months after his resignation from politics. The committee found West was treated unfairly,unprofessionally and that the recruitment of all trade commissioner roles had been flawed.
The committee made five key findings about the public service recruitment,including that Barilaro’s appointment had “all the trademarks of a ‘job for the boys’ position”.
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It said it was unacceptable Barilaro was offered the role and that contract negotiations with him had concluded before panel members were asked to sign off the final selection report.
The inquiry also found then minister Ayres showed inappropriate and poor judgment in discussing the New York role with Barilaro and former department secretary Amy Brown,and that he did not remain at arm’s length during the recruitment.
“It is a matter for the Legislative Assembly as to whether former Minister Ayres misled the parliament,” the report said.
Perrottet on Monday said he would pay no regard to the findings of “a political committee”.
“As premier,I instigated an independent review by a former inspector of the ICAC,who cleared Ayres of any wrongdoing,” he said.
Labor leader Chris Minns said Barilaro’s appointment constituted “a deliberate scheme” on behalf of senior ministers to appoint a friend to a lucrative position.
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“If it wasn’t for this committee,John Barilaro would be in New York City right now and Stuart Ayres would be sitting inside the NSW cabinet,” he said.
An earlier review by former NSW public service commissioner Graeme Head last year also found the process was not conducted at arm’s length. Head recommended action against Brown,who was sacked in September.
Barilaro quit the role amid overwhelming public scrutiny in June last year,saying he believed his appointment would continue to be a distraction from the role,which remains vacant today.
Barilaro did not respond to a request for comment.
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