Serious questions remain about how John Barilaro landed a lucrative New York trade job, NSW Labor Leader Chris Minns says.
It comes a day after the former NSW deputy premier was grilled about his involvement in securing his girlfriend a job at Investment NSW.
On Monday, a defiant Mr Barilaro appeared at the parliamentary committee investigating his appointment as the state's Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner to the Americas.
Mr Barilaro said the upper house inquiry had failed to produce any evidence of misconduct and only revealed he was the best man for the job.
Mr Minns says the government has been engaging in obstructionist tactics since the inquiry began.
"I mean it's a bit ridiculous ... this is taxpayer money. We need to know how it's been spent," Mr Minns told ABC TV on Tuesday.
"Circumstances around this appointment have been completely untransparent from the very beginning.
The government had "worked very hard at obscuring from the public exactly what happened".
"At the end of the day, we're expected to believe that of the eight million people who live in NSW, John Barilaro was independently chosen to represent our interests.
"There's serious questions to be answered."
The job saga has mired the Perrottet government in controversy since it was announced in June.
Last week, a draft review into the matter forced the resignation of former minister and deputy Liberal leader Stuart Ayres.
Mr Barilaro told the inquiry on Monday he consulted with Mr Ayres, Premier Dominic Perrottet and Treasurer Matt Kean about applying for the job and they were all supportive.
The inquiry revealed Mr Barilaro gave a professional reference for his former media advisor Jennifer Lugsdin, when she applied for a job at Investment NSW last year.
Ms Lugsdin worked in his office between August 2019 and August 2021.
Investment NSW later appointed Mr Barilaro to the US trade job and Ms Lugsdin went on to become his girlfriend.
Mr Barilaro stressed she was not hired by the NSW government and was employed as a contractor by a recruitment agency.
Mr Lugsdin stopped working for the agency in December, before he applied for the role in January.
Mr Barilaro said he reached out to Investment NSW chief executive Amy Brown, who later appointed Mr Barilaro to the job, to find out more about the role Ms Lugsdin wanted.
"I chose to reach out to find out about that job. I didn't ask her to hire her," Mr Barilaro said.
"I put forward her credentials, and thought she might be a good candidate."
Ms Brown, who was appearing for a third time at the hearing, reiterated her contact with him was limited to a Microsoft Teams meeting and three phone calls.
She said she had not been aware of a personal relationship between the two.
Mr Barilaro said it was not unusual for him to give a reference for one of his former staff members.
"I often would go into bat for any of my former staff as they were looking for jobs," he told in the inquiry."
Mr Barilaro will be recalled to give more evidence to the inquiry on Friday.
