Perrottet positive on US role: Barilaro
Phoebe Loomes |
Dominic Perrottet was supportive of John Barilaro’s pitch for a controversial overseas trade role when the former deputy premier told his colleague he intended to apply for the lucrative position, an inquiry has heard.
Mr Barilaro on Monday told a parliamentary inquiry into his appointment to the position that he flagged his interest in the $500,000-a-year role with the NSW premier in November.
“He was just like, ‘great’, and that was it,” Mr Barilaro said.
The ex-Nationals MP said their conversation, which he said took place a month after he announced his intention to leave politics, did not progress further and it was the only time he could remember the pair talking that month.
The scandal over Mr Barilaro’s appointment has engulfed the Perrottet government since it was announced in June, claiming the scalp of minister Stuart Ayres after a draft review suggested he might have intervened in the hiring process.
Mr Barilaro told the inquiry he would not throw his hat in the ring for the taxpayer-funded role again if he had the opportunity to do things differently.
“If I knew what I know now, I wouldn’t have walked into what was a s**tshow,” he said.
“Because the trauma I have gone through the last six, seven weeks, has been significant.”
But Mr Barilaro said none of his former colleagues raised red flags about him applying for the coveted role.
He strongly denied any wrongdoing and said many people had offered their support since he was appointed to the role, which he has since given up.
“Since my announcement as a trade commissioner to the Americas, and the unbearable past six to seven weeks, what I’ve come to learn is that my decade of fighting for others did resonate with many,” Mr Barilaro said.
While he agreed that other members of the public would not have the same access to the premier or ministers as he did, he rejected the suggestion that he created the role for himself.
Mr Barilaro’s testimony about his interest in the role beginning in November conflicts with claims from his former chief of staff Mark Connell, who told the inquiry the ex-deputy premier wanted the New York job soon after his appointment as trade minister in 2019.
Mr Barilaro also denied knowing that public servant Jenny West was the successful candidate in the first recruitment round despite signing a brief identifying her as the successful candidate.
“I only found that out during these proceedings,” he said.
“That has a digital signature on it, it hasn’t got my personal signature on it.”
Former deputy Liberal leader and trade minister Stuart Ayres resigned from cabinet last week after a review indicated the minister wasn’t at arm’s length from the hiring process and may have breached the ministerial code of conduct.
Mr Barilaro said he told Mr Ayres he was interested in the role in December and the then-minister later sent him the job ad.
Investment NSW chief executive Amy Brown is due to appear for a third time at the inquiry later on Monday.
NSW Labor has sought to expand the inquiry to look at other lucrative overseas-based roles and has indicated it will abolish the positions if it wins government in March.
When asked about the recruitment process on Monday, the premier said he would implement recommendations from the independent review his government launched in June, which is yet to formally report back to him.
“It’s clearly come to light there were issues in relation to the recruitment process,” Mr Perrottet told 2GB radio.
AAP
