There's never really been a lot of love for John Barilaro in the federal National party room.
That was even before he and federal MP Llew O'Brien were separated in an attempt to de-escalate an argument between the two.
O'Brien's 2017 tweet — that Barilaro, who had called for then PM Malcolm Turnbull to quit, should "focus on his role as vice-captain of reserve grade and let the big boys and girls take care of federal matters" — hadn't been well received.
Barilaro has never been short of an opinion on federal matters.
It's why you struggle to find someone in that party room who privately thinks it was a good idea to appoint him to a $500,000 gig in New York.
"What are his qualifications? He's a carpenter," one said this week.
The saga of Barilaro becoming a New South Wales trade commissioner has drowned out his former state government's bid to sell a budget that it hopes will see it re-elected in March.
Whether or not Barilaro ever makes it to New York will be a matter for the state's chief bureaucrat, who is reviewing the recruitment.
However, the appointment also serves a reminder for the new federal government about the perils of appointments and postings.
'Jobs for the boys'
If there's one thing Joe Public hates, it's the idea of "jobs for the boys". Even worse, is any perception, real or not, that politicians have their snout in the trough.
An extra thorn in the side of progressives is having to stomach conservative politicians who decry big government and the broader public sector while in government, only to find themselves in publicly funded jobs in their post-political careers.
Former treasurer Joe Hockey is a case in point.
In government, he championed that the age of entitlement had to end, before delivering a toe-cutting — and, ultimately, politically toxic — budget.
He regularly promoted the virtues of the private sector, only to find himself on the public purse after quitting politics.
As it turned out, in Donald Trump's America, brash and gregarious ambassador Hockey probably gave Australia its best chance at getting the attention of the US President.
It's not that appointments of former politicians are all destined for criticism. In some cases, they attract bipartisan support.
The new Labor government has made it clear that it supports former New South Wales Liberal premier Barry O'Farrell staying as Australia's high commissioner in India.
Giving a former politician a foreign posting can often open doors a career diplomat would otherwise struggle to access — think Hockey playing golf with Trump.
However, then there's the matter of Barilaro, another conservative to have spoken fondly of the need for small government, and the question of why it is that a state government is paying someone $500,000 to live in a city like New York, where their costs and accommodation will also be covered.
"This is why we have AusTrade," a federal National argued.
Former New South Wales premier and federal foreign minister Bob Carr has echoed that sentiment.
'Brand Australia' fractured
The job Barilaro is seeking to take is one of five postings he created when he was trade minister.
New South Wales is not alone in posting its own people abroad but there are mixed reports on what the roles can achieve.
In some cases, state parochialism has been shown to confuse export markets, with some in the sector arguing promoting "brand Australia" is likely to have greater success than pushing individual states.
Federal Labor does not need to wait for that state review into Barilaro's recruitment to work out how it will appoint people to postings.
The federal election told us that people are paying attention to politics and they are not overly thrilled with "business as usual".
In New South Wales, voters are seeing a whole lot of buck-passing as few, if any, are willing to take responsibility for Barilaro's appointment.
Whether or not there has been any wrongdoing in that state — and the ABC is not suggesting there has been — it reinforces the need for federal Labor to deliver the federal ICAC that it has promised.
Voters have made it clear they want transparency and accountability in decision-making.
One political insider dubbed the appointment as something you do after an election, not before it.
Labor will be imminently announcing a new high commissioner to London and most expect it will be a former politician.
Who, is anyone's guess. The only one guarantee is it will not be the man who goes by the nickname Barra.
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2022-06-24 19:00:00Z
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