Former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro has been asked to appear before a parliamentary inquiry into his controversial appointment to a plum trade role based in New York.
Key points:
- A committee is probing how John Barilaro was appointed to the trade role after his retirement
- Mr Barilaro challenged the inquiry to call him during a radio interview
- Trade Minister Stuart Ayres has also become a focus of the inquiry
He has been invited to front the committee on Monday, August 8.
The parliamentary committee has been under pressure to call Mr Barilaro to give evidence.
Mr Barilaro on Monday gave an interview after footage surfaced of his involvement in an altercation with a news camera operator while on a night out in Manly on the weekend.
"Call me to the inquiry because it's you that's causing this intrusion and harassment," he told Nine Radio.
"It's you, the Labor Party. It's Chris Minns as leader and Penny Sharpe in the upper house who are turning this inquiry into a circus."
But the Opposition maintained the NSW government had not handed over all the documents requested under a parliamentary order, which it insisted were needed to put to Mr Barilaro as evidence.
Labor said the documents had now been handed over and also the paperwork, deemed secret, would be made public.
Shadow Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said this was "a victory for the public's right to know".
"And it's a defeat of the government's attempt to cover up these documents and the information they contain."
It has also prompted the calling of Mr Barilaro to the inquiry.
"We've always said all along that once we have the documents that we are in a position to resume the public inquiry," Mr Mookhey said.
The government agreeing to make the documents public has also resulted in the Opposition withdrawing its request to recall parliament in the upper house tomorrow.
Labor MLC John Graham said the threat to recall parliament worked.
"We make no apologies for holding the government to account," he said.
"Keeping the government under extreme pressure here to make sure this has happened."
The parliamentary inquiry also plans to call the Mr Barilaro's former chief of staff, Siobhan McCarthy, and ask bureaucrat Amy Brown, who oversaw the recruitment process, to appear again before the committee.
Mr Mookhey, who is part of the committee, said the inquiry also planned to scrutinise Trade Minister Stuart Ayres's role in the appointment process.
"We will be focusing on the role of Mr Ayres in the selection processes," Mr Mookhey said.
"Mr Ayres has some very serious questions to be answering here."
Speaking in India today, where he has joined the Premier's trade tour of Asia, Mr Ayres said he had "no power" to influence the decision of Ms Brown in appointing Mr Barilaro.
Mr Ayres denied he misled parliament when he said no suitable candidate had been identified for the role before Mr Barilaro's appointment, despite it now being revealed he had previously signed a note stating bureaucrat Jenny West was identified as "successful".
The Minister said what he told parliament was "absolutely consistent" with what had been relayed to him by Ms Brown, as the decision maker.
"It's very important to recognise that noting that information is not me making a decision, nor is it me approving an individual for that role," he said.
"Amy Brown, as the employer, as the CEO of Investment NSW, is the only person who can determine when that recruitment process is ended.
"She made this very clear in her evidence to the legislative council committee."
When asked how and why Ms Brown had pivoted to Mr Barilaro, Mr Ayres pointed to the Investment NSW boss's evidence to the inquiry that she had "significant concerns" about Ms West's capacity for the role.
He said Mr Barilaro went through the same "open, transparent recruitment process" as the other candidates, and was "selected on merit".
Premier Dominic Perrottet said there would always be "different opinions on the selection of candidates" for high-powered jobs.
He said on his tour of Asia, businesses had told him one of the main issues they face is trying to "navigate government processes".
"And I think John Barilaro was someone who had that experience in NSW," he said.
Asked if he had confidence in Mr Ayres, the Premier replied: "yes".
Mr Barilaro successfully applied for the New York job after leaving politics last year.
However, last month he announced he would withdraw from the job, which comes with a $500,000 annual salary package, following intense scrutiny over the recruitment process.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiZGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIyLTA3LTI4L2pvaG4tYmFyaWxhcm8taW52aXRlZC10by1mcm9udC1uZXcteW9yay1qb2ItaW5xdWlyeS8xMDEyNzc2NjjSAQA?oc=5
2022-07-28 05:21:27Z
1516306016
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "John Barilaro invited to front inquiry over lucrative US trade role - ABC News"
Post a Comment