John Barilaro Has Been Given A $500k A Year Job That He Literally Created
The move has been blocked in NSW parliament pending an inquiry.
Former Deputy Premier of New South Wales John Barilaro is making headlines once again after being appointed a $500,000/year trade commissioner job — a decision that has quickly been shot down by NSW Labor.
Barilaro quit state politics last year just days after Premier Gladys Berejiklian resigned from her role.
“I’m leaving today because of the very reasons that I’ve said earlier that it’s time because of the 10 and a half years, the defamation case, definitely playing a big part of this,” said Barilaro at the time. “Serving as deputy premier of NSW, as leader of the NSW Nationals and as the member for Monaro has been the honour and privilege of a lifetime.”
But just 15 months after his resignation, Barilaro was appointed as the state’s trade commissioner to the US in an announcement on Friday.
In a press conference on Saturday, Premier Dominic Perrottet commended the former Nationals leader and asserted he was the best person for the job.
“It doesn’t come as any surprise to me that the independent process that occurred, that he was by far the most outstanding candidate,” said Perrottet. “And recommended by that panel to the government and I’m sure he will do a brilliant job.”
On Wednesday, Labor passed a motion to halt Barilaro’s appointment until an inquiry into the situation can be completed and its findings can be interpreted. The news comes after Labor accused the NSW state government of giving out “jobs for mates”.
#BREAKING The NSW Upper House has just passed a motion calling on Dominic Perrottet to halt the appointment of John Barilaro to NYC.
This would be until an inquiry can be conducted.
The people of NSW deserve to know the truth about this appointment.
— Chris Minns (@ChrisMinnsMP) June 22, 2022
But while the decision has been temporarily blocked, it’s still worth unpacking the situation surrounding it.
The Job Was Reportedly Offered To Someone Else First
Prior to the job being offered to Barilaro, The Guardian reports it was offered to senior public servant Jenny West. However, this offer was later rescinded before the job was ultimately given to Barilaro.
According to documents seen by The Guardian, Investment NSW reportedly interviewed four people for the job in July last year, before Barilaro’s resignation, with two candidates — Jenny West and Rob Fitzpatrick — meeting the criteria for the job.
West — who has an impressive resume in both the public and private sectors — was then reportedly informed by then-Premier Gladys Berejiklian that she had been successful in getting the job. However, the offer was reportedly rescinded in September — with West allegedly receiving a settlement payout and leaving the public service.
The job was eventually readvertised in December, with Barilaro being announced as the successful candidate last week. But despite evidence showing at least two other candidates being interviewed for the role last year, Perrottet has today claimed that Barilaro was the only appropriate candidate for the job.
“The advice I received is there was an initial process and the secretary of the department formed the view the process had not found an appropriate candidate for that appointment, and a second process was commenced,” said Perrottet. “The advice I’ve received is (Jenny West) was not offered the job… but I’ll get further advice in relation to that.”
The appointment of Barilaro’s new role was not signed off by Cabinet, despite other identical roles being signed off previously. However, Perrottet has argued that this is an independent public service recruitment process that doesn’t require Cabinet approval — a claim that has been refuted by Labor.
“Candidates were shortlisted and assessed on a range of measures including suitability for the role, qualifications, skills and experience,” Investment NSW said in a statement. “As with other recent STIC recruitment, this appointment was not required to go to cabinet for approval.”
Potential Conflicts Of Interest
In November 2020, it was Barilaro who announced the creation of the five taxpayer-funded trade commissioner jobs — one of which he now holds.
Additionally, Labor is questioning whether any of the public officials involved in Barilaro’s appointment may have failed to disclose potential conflicts of interest.
One of the public servants in charge of conducting the 2021 interviews for the role was Amy Brown, the CEO of Investment NSW — who reported to three ministers, including Barilaro, at the time.
It is unclear if Brown disclosed this potential conflict of interest, but there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing or improper conduct on her behalf.
Answering questions in Parliament on Tuesday, Perrottet confirmed he was not aware of any conflicts of interest declared during the hiring process.
Labor Investigates
NSW Labor has questioned how Barilaro was given the role, with upper house leader Penny Sharpe asserting no stone will be left unturned in Labor’s inquiry — which will likely be a determining factor in whether or not Barilaro is able to accept the job.
“This stinks to high heaven,” said Sharpe. “It just doesn’t make any sense that the Premier would decide that John Barilaro is the best person in the whole of NSW to go to New York and represent us on our behalf.”
It is, however, worth noting that Barilaro previously held the office of trade minister, so realistically, it’s not that big of a stretch that he could be genuinely qualified to be trade commissioner.
“John Barilaro was a trade minister and he appears qualified to be a trade commissioner,” NSW Treasurer Matt Kean said. “I’ve been informed that this has gone through the proper process and that’s how decisions should be taken.”
There is no assertion that John Barilaro created this role for himself, or had any intention of fulfilling the role when the position was announced.