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Australia

Public Service Commissioner would not have endorsed Barilaro appointment had she known of ministerial interventions

a woman behind a desk and a microphone

The NSW Public Service Commissioner has told an inquiry she would never have signed off on former deputy premier John Barilaro’s appointment as New York trade commissioner had she known of the level of ministerial involvement.

Kathrina Lo was on the selection panel but said she was unaware that then-minister Stuart Ayres had played a role in deciding which candidates should be shortlisted and that he had provided an informal reference for his former colleague, Mr Barilaro.

Ms Lo said she had only learned of these interventions through evidence given to the inquiry and media reports.

She said she’d also been unaware that Mr Ayres had held a Zoom meeting with the other leading candidate, businesswoman Kimberley Cole.

“Had I known on 15th June what I know now, I would not have endorsed the report,” she said, referring to the final report of the selection panel.

The other independent member of the selection panel was former Liberal MP Warwick Smith.

He has not been called as a witness but Ms Lo said he would like it placed on the record that he would not have endorsed the report had he known the full picture.

The commissioner said no pressure had been placed on her personally to achieve a particular outcome but she expressed her displeasure at the way the process had been conducted.

“As Public Service Commissioner, I should not be viewed as cover for a recruitment process or a way for other panel members or the hiring agency to avoid accountability,” Ms Lo said.

Earlier today, Mr Barilaro’s former chief of staff Siobhan Hamblin told the inquiry that she had been given no reason to believe that he stood to benefit personally from any changes to the way the trade commissioners were appointed.

In the days before Mr Barilaro announced his plans to leave politics, emails show bureaucrats discussing changing the rules for the recruitment of new trade commissioners, then deciding the plum US role would be handled “as an internal matter”.

Ms Hamblin today said Mr Barilaro “never raised with me any personal interest in these roles”.

If he had, she said, she would have had no hesitation in flagging it as a concern.

Siobhan Hamblin wearing a pink jacket
Siobhan Hamblin today gave evidence to the inquiry.(AAP: James Gourley)

Ms Hamblin told the inquiry that in September last year, Mr Barilaro spoke to her about his intention to resign from politics.

She agreed that those conversations took place around the same time as he had asked his staff to prepare an urgent submission to cabinet seeking to change the trade jobs into ministerial appointments.

Ms Hamblin said the discussions were not unusual and were not confined to that period as he had been talking about leaving parliament since he took a month of mental health leave the previous year.

“Sometimes it was quite a flippant and at other times it was more serious,” Ms Hamblin told the hearing.

A close up picture of John Barilaro's face
Former deputy premier John Barilaro resigned from politics last year.(AAP: Joel Carrett)

Labor’s Daniel Mookhey pressed Ms Hamblin on the timing of Mr Barilaro’s request for his staff to prepare an urgent submission to cabinet to turn the New York-based role into a ministerial appointment.

“Was it the case that the reason why Mr Barilaro wanted this cabinet submission produced ASAP and considered urgently was because at that point of time he had already started contemplating a resignation?” Mr Mookhey asked.

“That is a question for him, Mr Mookhey,” Ms Hamblin replied.

Mr Barilaro is due to appear before the inquiry on Monday.

The acting managing director of Investment NSW Kylie Bell gave evidence that the position of New York trade commissioner has been placed on hold pending the conclusion of the hearings.

She told MPs that there were currently four people working in the NSW government’s New York trade office, earning a total of $900,000 in salaries.

In addition, there are two staff based in San Francisco and one other in Washington, who is employed through Austrade.

A woman with blonde hair and glasses smiles while sitting behind a microphone
Chief executive of Investment NSW Amy Brown gave evidence earlier this week for a second time. (AAP: Bianca de Marchi)

Labor has said it would scrap the international trade roles, saying revelations in recent weeks have raised questions about whether they are delivering value for money for taxpayers.

“With our hospitals overstretched and teachers under-resourced, the Government has failed dismally to demonstrate value for money of its senior trade commissioners,” NSW Labor Leader Chris Minns said.

Mr Barilaro’s appointment has been put under the microscope for several weeks and is the subject of two separate inquiries.

He has since withdrawn from the position.

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Categories
Australia

Sydney news: Political staffer, public servants to appear at Barilaro’s fourth US trade job hearing

a man standing outdoors in a paddock holding onto a fence

Here’s what you need to know this morning.

Barilaro US trade job inquiry to meet again today

The New South Wales upper house inquiry into the appointment of former deputy premier John Barilaro to the lucrative US trade role will agree again on Friday.

An additional fourth hearing comes after the resignation of Trade Minister Stuart Ayres on Wednesday, following questions raised about his involvement in the process.

Mr Ayres denies any wrongdoing but will be investigated for a possible breach of the Ministerial Code of Conduct.

Mr Barilaro’s former chief of staff, Siobhan Hamblin, the managing director of Investment NSW, Kylie Bell, and the Public Sector Commissioner, Kathrina Lo, will give evidence from 10am.

Earlier in the week, in her second appearance before the committee, Investment NSW chief executive Amy Brown granted the appointment was not done “at arm’s length” from the state government.

Mr Barilaro — who has withdrawn from the $500,000-a-year job — is due to appear at the inquiry on Monday, August 8.

Meanwhile, the NSW opposition leader Chris Minns said it does not make sense to have highly paid Trade Commissioners based overseas when the state’s finances are under extreme pressure.

He said Labor would abolish the six Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner positions, if it wins the state election in March.

“The modern Australian economy, particularly when you’re chasing export opportunities, is so diverse and so big that a single person driving that agenda around the world just doesn’t make sense,” Mr Minns said.

COVID-19 cases in state slowdown

NSW Health says its latest surveillance data suggests that COVID-19 infections have peaked and hospital admissions have plateaued across the state.

The report — which analyzes the week ending July 30 — found the rate of COVID-19 notifications per 100,000 people had decreased, or remained stable, across all local health districts.

Infections have also decreased, or remained stable, across all age groups, except those aged between 10 and 19 years.

The seven-day, rolling average of daily hospital admissions also decreased by 14.8 per cent.

Meanwhile, the highly “sticky” BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron sub-variants are still the dominant strains, rising to 97 per cent of specimens sampled at the end of last week, compared to 94 per cent at the end of the previous week.

NSW Health says there is still no evidence of a difference in disease severity between these and previous Omicron variants.

Monkeypox doses available soon

A woman holds a mock-up vial labeled "Monkeypox vaccine"
The vaccine will be eligible for some people from Monday.(Reuters: Given Ruvic/Illustration)

Those most at risk from monkeypox in NSW can access the first doses of the smallpox vaccine from Monday 8 August, as part of a targeted rollout across the state.

NSW Health has secured the first 5,500 doses for high-risk groups, such as people with suppressed immune systems, sex workers and homeless men who have sex with men.

Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said doctors will identify people who should be vaccinated against Monkeypox and more information will be released in coming days about how to register interest.

Australia has recorded about 60 cases of Monkeypox, which is a usually mild disease similar to smallpox, and until May was endemic to Central and West Africa.

Another 30,000 doses will be delivered to the state next month.

Man charged with stalking teacher

A man has been charged with intimidating and stalking a teacher at Auburn in Sydney’s West.

Police say the 26-year-old threatened the teacher at the basketball courts of the PCYC on Wednesday.

He has been granted bail and is due to face court next week.

Natural disaster organization under fire

a man looking and standing outdoors
The future is unclear for Shane Fitzsimmons, who leads Resilience NSW.(AAP: Mick Tsikas)

New South Wales cabinet is expected to approve a recommendation to dismantle the organization created to lead the response to natural disasters.

A report into this year’s floods has recommended dismantling Resilience New South Wales.

Flood victims have criticized the organisation’s performance.

It’s thought the agency’s responsibilities will be reallocated to existing government departments.

Varroa mites spread

Varroa mite infestations have been identified at nine more properties in the Newscastle region.

The nine new detections bring the total number of infested premises to 73.

All of the new detections have been linked to other cases or to the movement of other hives and equipment, and were found within existing emergency zones.

Varroa mites spread viruses that cripple bees’ ability to fly, gather food and pollinate crops, leading hives to collapse and die off.

Australia was the last continent to be free of the parasite, with previous detections in Queensland and Victoria eradicated.

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Categories
Australia

New South Wales Trade Minister Stuart Ayres resigns after inquiry into John Barilaro appointment

NSW Sports Minister says moving NRL grand final from Sydney would be 'extraordinary' move

New South Wales Trade Minister Stuart Ayres has resigned from the ministry after an inquiry “raised concerns” about his conduct in the appointment of John Barilaro to a lucrative US trade role.

Mr Ayres has been the deputy leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party, and also served as the investment, tourism, sport and Western Sydney minister.

Premier Dominic Perrottet revealed that Mr Ayres had offered his resignation, but that he continues to deny any wrongdoing.

The resignation comes after Mr Perrottet ordered a review into the recruitment of former deputy premier, Mr Barilaro, to the key New York-based role of US senior trade and investment commissioner.

“Late last night, Minister Stuart Ayres informed me he would resign from his ministerial positions and as deputy leader of the NSW parliamentary Liberal Party,” Mr Perrottet said.

“His intention to resign follows a briefing I received from the Department of Premier and Cabinet secretary Michael Coutts-Trotter on a section of the draft Graham Head report relevant to Mr Ayres.

“I subsequently discussed the issues raised in that briefing with Mr Ayres.

“Mr Head’s draft findings raised a concern about whether Mr Ayres had complied with the Ministerial Code of Conduct.”

a composite image of three men smiling and looking
There has been intense scrutiny over the conduct of Stuart Ayres (right) in the appointment of John Barilaro (centre) to the US trade job.(Supplied)

Mr Ayres’s conduct in the process — which ended in the appointment of Mr Barilaro to the lucrative US trade role — has been under increasing scrutiny in recent days.

Documents released to a parliamentary inquiry investigating the appointment appeared to contradict public statements Mr Ayres made about the recruitment process.

He maintained the process was completed at arm’s length from him, and that he had done nothing wrong.

On Monday, Mr Ayres admitted to sending a job ad for the position to Mr Barilaro and later said he would have “discouraged” his former cabinet colleague from applying if he had his time again.

Mr Perrottet today said Mr Ayres denies any wrongdoing, but there was “no doubt” the findings in Mr Head’s draft report raised questions “in relation to whether or not there has been a breach of the Ministerial Code of Conduct”.

Mr Ayres is expected to stay on in parliament, the Premier said.

“When I spoke to him last night, he told me his intention was to remain as the Member for Penrith.”

Stuart Ayres looks to the sky with a grandstand behind him
Stuart Ayres has resigned as a minister in the NSW government.(AAP: Bianca De Marchi)

In a statement, Mr Ayres accepted Mr Head’s review “creates a question” about whether he breached the code of conduct but said: “In my view, no such breach has occurred.”

“However, I agree it is important that this matter is investigated appropriately and support the Premier’s decision to do so,” he said.

“I have always applied the highest levels of integrity in my conduct as a minister.

“To maintain the integrity of the cabinet, I have decided to resign as a minister to allow the investigation to be completed.

“Accordingly, I will also be resigning as the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party.”

Mr Perrottet said the issues raised by the draft report “go directly to the engagement of Minister Ayres with the Department secretary”, Amy Brown, during the recruitment process.

Amy Brown wearing a suit jacket and glasses
Stuart Ayres says Investment NSW boss Amy Brown (pictured) was wholly responsible for Mr Barilaro’s recruitment.(AAP: Dan Himbrechts)

He said there was no evidence that Mr Ayres had “lied” about his conduct.

Mr Perrottet defended his handling of the matter, which has dragged on for several days, saying he acted as soon as information came to light.

“What I will not do is make decisions based on media pressure or political pressure,” he said.

“I’ll make decisions, as I’ve always done, in relation to what I believe is right.”

Ms Brown, the Investment NSW chief executive, is today due to give evidence again at the parliamentary inquiry into the matter.

Mr Perrottet said he was unaware of what Ms Brown would say, and that — as far as he was concerned — he acted as soon as he received information.

“I have said from the outset the upper house inquiry will do its work,” he said.

“My job was to implement an independent review and that’s exactly what I have done.”

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Categories
Australia

NSW Trade Minister Stuart Ayres reflects on involvement in John Barilaro’s recruitment to lucrative New York role

NSW Trade Minister Stuart Ayres reflects on involvement in John Barilaro's recruitment to lucrative New York role

NSW Trade Minister Stuart Ayres has conceded that he should have advised former deputy premier John Barilaro not to apply for an overseas trade role.

Mr Ayres has told Nine Radio that Mr Barilaro’s application for Trade Commissioner to the Americas came too soon after he left parliament, and that he should have advised him not to apply for the role.

“If I had my time again, I would have said to him: ‘The time frame between the end of your parliamentary career and you applying for this job will be too politically sensitive and you should not consider doing the role’,” Mr Ayres said.

He accepted his job was on the line and he would be unable to continue as trade minister if the review found he acted improperly.

“I am confident that all of my actions have been in the best interests of the public and I think that’s what that review will show,” Mr Ayres said.

“If the [Graham] Head review shows that I have not done the right thing, then I don’t think my position would be tenable, but I don’t believe that’s the case.”

Mr Ayres has confirmed he texted a copy of the job advertisement to Mr Barilaro when it was first advertised after Mr Barilaro expressed an interest in the role.

But Mr Ayres has denied he had any role in Mr Barilaro’s subsequent appointment to the role.

“Of course, I undertake my own reflections on my course of action, but everything I’ve done as a minister has been about making sure we deliver the best outcomes for the people of New South Wales,” Mr Ayres said.

“I’ve always acted in the interests of the public.

“I’ve always undertaken my ministerial duties with the highest level of integrity and I’ve always wanted to make decisions in the best interests of the public.”

Mr Barilaro was announced as the successful candidate in June.

The position is based in New York and comes with a $500,000 salary package.

Mr Barilaro later withdrew from the position, saying it had become untenable.

Mr Ayres said Premier Dominic Perrottet had not asked him to stand aside over the matter but admitted it had been a “challenging” few weeks.

“[Mr Perrottet] has been really supportive through this whole exercise,” Mr Ayres said.

“He’s made it pretty clear that he’s put in place the independent review that’s been conducted by Graham Head, a former public service commissioner, and he wants to wait until that review’s completed and he’ll make his decisions after that.”

Deputy Premier and Nationals leader Paul Toole refused to comment directly on whether he supported Mr Ayres but said public confidence in ministers was critical.

“As the leader of the National Party and as the Deputy Premier I have very high standards and I have very clear expectations of my ministers,” he said.

“I expect them to be acting with honesty and integrity at all times.”

Leaked emails last week revealed Mr Ayres put forward a name to be added to a shortlist of candidates for the role, but he maintains that name was not John Barilaro’s.

Documents released yesterday revealed another candidate was recommended ahead of Mr Barilaro before he was later ranked higher.

Mr Perrottet said he was expecting the independent review into Mr Barilaro’s appointment “very shortly”.

Mr Perrottet initiated the review in late June and it has been conducted alongside a parliamentary inquiry.

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Categories
Australia

Another candidate recommended ahead of John Barilaro for US job, documents show

Former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro

New secret NSW government documents suggest another candidate was recommended ahead of John Barilaro, at some stage, during the recruitment process for a lucrative trade role based in New York.

There are discrepancies between two versions of the selection panel report, after four candidates on the shortlist for the Trade Commissioner to the Americas role were interviewed in March this year.

Mr Barilaro’s appointment has been put under the microscope for several weeks, and is the subject of two separate parliamentary probes.

He has since withdrawn from the $500,000-a-year position.

The reports were part of a tranche of documents released today to a parliamentary inquiry probing the appointment of Mr Barilaro to the high-paid US position.

In one version, the former deputy premier isn’t the recommended candidate.

“The panel came to the view that John Barilaro did have some of the relevant capabilities and experience for the role,” the report said.

“However he had not worked internationally in a role aligned to the experience expected for a high-level STIC candidate.”

It also raised concerns that “he would need to build a team without the business or departmental infrastructure he had previously”.

“His lack of business development networks would mean that he would have a considerable learning curve in this role.”

A table with several names and columns
In one of the documents, Mr Barilaro is ranked first.(Supplied)
A table with several names and columns
In another, an unnamed candidate scored higher.(Supplied)

The person recommended for the job has their name written on the documents.

They scored four exceeds in the selection process, while Mr Barilaro was rated two meets and two exceeds.

But his rating changed on the second report, on which he scored three exceeds and one meets.

The change to exceed was on the selection criteria for “manage and develop people”.

In this report, Mr Barilaro is the recommended candidate.

“While he has not lived internationally, he has successfully developed international businesses in both his roles in managing his own company in the private sector and in his capacity as Deputy Premier and Trade Minister for NSW,” the report said.

“He had a strong track record of building teams as well as operating in a dynamic environment.”

Jenny West wearing a pair of glasses
Jenny West claims the government reneged on offering her the job.(AAP: Bianca De Marchi)

These two reports have been released as part of dozens of documents that were handed over under a parliamentary order.

They were previously deemed secret, but after pressure from the Opposition the government agreed to make them public.

A parliamentary inquiry has previously been heard from former bureaucrat Jenny West, who was listed as the “successful candidate” on government documents in mid-2021.

Ms West told the inquiry that Investment NSW chief executive Amy Brown then told her last October that she would no longer be offered the job because it “would be a present for someone”.

“[Ms Brown said] ‘I have spoken to Minister [Stuart] Ayres who has taken over the deputy premier’s portfolio and he has confirmed that you will not be getting the Americas role. It will be a present for someone’,” Ms West claimed.

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Categories
Australia

Sydney news: Report shows Sydney Metro faces cost blowouts, safety and security risks

Sydney news: Report shows Sydney Metro faces cost blowouts, safety and security risks

Here’s what you need to know this morning.

More secret files on US trade role to be made public

Former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro
Mr Barilaro will appear next week before a parliamentary inquiry into his appointment.(AAP: Joel Carrett)

Secret government documents relating to John Barilaro’s appointment to a lucrative trade role in New York are set to be made public this morning.

Last week, the government agreed to stop the documents being deemed privileged, after the opposition fought to have them released into the public domain.

The documents are set to put the government under further pressure over the controversy that has been escalating for weeks.

The ABC understands there is growing frustration within the government that Premier Dominic Perrottet isn’t taking decisive action, while there are also ongoing questions about Trade Minister Stuart Ayres’ involvement and whether he misled parliament.

Mr Barilaro is no longer taking the job and will front a parliamentary inquiry into his appointment next week on Monday, August 8.

This week, Investment NSW CEO Amy Brown will front the inquiry for the second time.

Mr Ayres has released a statement on his Facebook page overnight, defending his actions in the controversy.

Mr Ayres said he had made decisions placing the interests of the community first.

“While I respected Mr Barilaro in his role as deputy premier, leader of the National Party and his passionate (and at times excessive) advocacy of regional NSW, I don’t think we ever called each other close friends,” he said.

“Every action I have taken has been to remove politics from the recruitment of these roles and put the people of NSW first.”

Sydney Metro faces serious risks, documents show

concrete tunnel lit across the ceiling
The price tag for the Sydney Metro City and South West had blown out by about $6 billion, budget papers revealed earlier this year.(Supplied: NSW Metro)

The Sydney Metro public transport project faces serious risks that have been revealed in a confidential internal document, the NSW opposition has warned.

NSW Shadow Minister for Transport Jo Haylen said the document, prepared by Sydney Metro officials, shows the project’s core strategic objectives are now at risk because of a range of serious issues.

The long list of risks, rated high or very high, includes further cost blowouts, safety and security concerns, inability to attract and retain skilled resources and compromised operations.

“After spending billions of taxpayer dollars, the government’s signature public transport project now faces a series of major risks, including failure to deliver expected long-term benefits as well as more delays,” Ms Haylen said.

“This will increase the total cost of the metro line between Chatswood and Bankstown via the CBD to $18.5 billion, which is far higher than the original budget of $11.5 billion to $12.5 billion.”

In June, state budget papers revealed the price tag for the Sydney Metro City and South West had blown out by about $6 billion, as NSW’s major transport infrastructure projects face significant cost hikes.

Union slams new school trial

young school children sitting outdoors in the playground
The teachers union says the new staffing resource will only touch the surface.(ABC News: Tim Swanston)

The NSW teacher’s union says the state government’s announcement of 200 school support staff is “not even window dressing”.

Yesterday, the NSW government announced a trial of new administration roles in public schools to help teachers with non-teaching tasks such as data entry, paperwork and coordinating excursions.

But the president of the Teachers Federation, Angelo Gavrielatos, said the 200 support staff across the state would have next-to-no impact on teachers.

“This is not even window dressing,” he said.

“We need a fundamental reset to deal with the underlying conditions that have created the teacher shortage, unsustainable workloads and uncompetitive salaries.”

The new roles will be trialled in public schools from term four.

Inquest into man fatally shot by police to begin

A man wearing a black jacket with red and white striped detail.
Jacob Carr, 53, was fatally shot by police on August 17, 2019.(Supplied)

An inquest is due to start today into the death of a Sydney man shot by police after a domestic violence incident.

Fifty-three-year-old Jacob Carr died after being shot by police in August 2019.

Officers say they were called after he fought with his mother at his nephew’s engagement party at Ingleside on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.

They say after the fight, Carr went into a granny flat attached to the house and refused to come out.

Police say after they entered through an unlocked door, I pointed a gun at them.

He was shot in the leg but died on the way to hospital.

Family and friends say Carr had struggled with chronic pain and depression for years before his death.

DNA collection sites open for families of missing loved ones

a woman wearing a mask and holding a swab
Four pop-up familial DNA collection sites will operate this week.(Supplied: AFP)

Relatives of people who have been missing for a long time are being urged to provide DNA at collection centers across New South Wales from today.

The pop-up sites in Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong and Penrith are part of National Missing Persons Week and will operate until Saturday, August 6.

NSW currently has 751 outstanding cold cases, some dating back to the 1940s. There are also about 330 unidentified bodies.

It’s hoped the familiar samples can help find links between the two.

The manager of the NSW Missing Persons Registry, Glenn Browne, said the initiative, which is now in its second year, had been extremely useful.

“At the moment, we don’t have a direct result where we’ve identified an unidentified body but there have been a couple of cases where… we’ve discovered that we’re actually heading down the wrong path,” he said.

“[It] can rule out lines of inquiry for us just as easily as it can rule in certain lines of inquiry.”

Mr Browne also reassured people that the mouth swabs would only be compared against missing persons databases in Australia.

New Chinese cultural museum for Sydney

the outside of a sandstone building
The Haymarket Library will be converted into the new Museum of Chinese in Australia (MOCA).(abcnews)

The contributions made by the Chinese community nationally and in NSW will be recognized in a new museum in Sydney — the first of its kind in the state.

Under the NSW’s government’s $2.28 million investment, Chinatown’s historic Haymarket Library will be refurbished into the Museum of Chinese in Australia (MOCA).

Minister for the Arts Ben Franklin called it a “wonderful project” that would “fill an important space in the cultural storytelling of this nation.”

Minister for Multiculturalism Mark Coure said the museum was also a wonderful example of the community’s multicultural success story.

“I think this will uniquely show how well our multicultural society works — highlighting our historical past and the contributions of the Chinese community,” he said.

“While this museum will be about celebrating their valued contributions, it will help foster greater unity and understanding of those of Chinese heritage and how they have helped make New South Wales the great state it is today.”

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