Two of John Barilaro’s former advisers will be called to give evidence at an inquiry into the former deputy premier’s appointment to a $500,000-a-year New York trade job, amid mounting pressure on the government to release hundreds of documents related to the posting.
News of the appearances comes as the New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, said reports a senior bureaucrat described the trade job as a “present for someone” were concerning, while denying he misled parliament over the saga.
The claim was made during evidence given to the upper house inquiry by Jenny West, a businesswoman and former senior public servant who was first offered the trade commissioner job in August last year, before it later went to the state’s former deputy premier John Barilaro.
West told Monday’s inquiry that Investment NSW chief executive, Amy Brown, had said the role would be a gift to someone when withdrawing West’s offer, because the position was now to be a “political appointment” not a public sector one.
“There is absolutely no place for gifts of government jobs, whether they are statutory appointments or government sector appointments,” Perrottet told media on Tuesday.
“Obviously yesterday the reports are concerning and from my perspective the independent review will look at that.”
With Monday’s evidence already referred to Icac, West’s claims have placed further pressure on the NSW government to release a tranche of files, including emails from within Investment NSW discussing the appointment.
While the documents are available to members of the NSW upper house, they have been kept secret because the government claimed their release would not be in the public interest. The Guardian understands Labor plans to challenge the ruling, in a bid to force their release.
One of the two former Barilaro advisers to be called to appear next week is former senior policy adviser Joseph Brayford.
The inquiry previously heard that Brayford had asked Brown for advice on whether the trade commissioner positions could be made as ministerial appointments.
“Mr Brayford made it clear that the deputy premier wanted to know the various mechanisms for which [trade commissioners] could be appointed,” Brown told the inquiry last month.
Chris Carr, a lawyer in the department who also sought advice on how to make the jobs ministerial appointments, is the other former adviser who will be asked to appear.
The Guardian understands Brown is likely to be recalled to give evidence for a second time, following questions about her previous comments to the inquiry.
The job offer to West, first revealed by the Guardian last month, was made verbally by Brown, who also sent West a copy of a briefing note signed by former premier Gladys Berejiklian describing her as the “successful candidate” for the job.
“This is one to frame,” she wrote in the message, along with emojis of a champagne bottle and the Statue of Liberty.
The offer was later rescinded after cabinet decided to instead turn the commissioner roles into ministerial appointments. That submission was taken to cabinet by Barilaro, then the state’s trade and investment minister.
In the inquiry hearing on Monday, West said that on 14 October she had a meeting with Brown in which she was told the job would be going to someone else as “a present”.
In a note of that conversation taken by West at the time, she said Brown had broken the news after meeting with Barilaro’s replacement as trade and investment minister, Stuart Ayres.
“I have spoken to minister Ayres who has taken over the deputy premier’s portfolio and he has confirmed you will not be getting the Americas role,” Brown allegedly said, according to West’s notes of the conversation.
“It will be a ‘present’ for someone. There will not be a role in New York for you.”
Ayres has since put out a statement denying he made the comments, and labelling the suggestion he did “offensive”.
“Amy Brown is and was the decision maker for this role,” he said.
“Her evidence has been clear and consistent that this is a decision for the secretary [Brown] and one I did not influence.”
On Tuesday Perrottet denied he had ever made a similar comment or heard the job described in those terms.
He also denied that he misled parliament when he said last month that “no suitable candidate” for the job had been found during the first round of recruitment.
In a statement likely to increase pressure on Brown, Perrottet said his comments were “based on advice I received from the department”.
“When pressed in the inquiry, the secretary of the department confirmed that was the advice that had been provided to me in relation to whether or not there had been a suitable candidate from the first process,” Perrottet said.
“Now in addition to those other matters well they will come through the independent review.
“I have asked the Department of Premier and Cabinet … to make sure that all those matters [including] the information which has been provided are ventilated and advice is given to me in relation to the process.”
It comes as NSW anticorruption watchdog is considering its own investigation into the appointment.
The Guardian understands investigators from the Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) have been closely monitoring the parliamentary inquiry into the appointment. On Tuesday Greens upper house MP Cate Faehrmann, who is chairing the inquiry, confirmed she had referred Monday’s evidence to the watchdog.
A spokesperson for the Icac said “the commission does not confirm or deny if it is considering or undertaking investigations”.
Barilaro has since withdrawn from the trade role, saying the high degree of media attention was a distraction that had made it untenable for him to continue.
“I have always maintained that I followed the process and look forward to the results of the review,” he said.
The Guardian does not suggest the former deputy premier is the subject of any potential investigation by the Icac.
