This Month
Outback Wagyu powerhouse to test appetite for top-end farms
The Taylors Plains property, which has come to the market with a $75 million guide, will be the first big test of appetite for trophy livestock properties in 2025.
- Larry Schlesinger
October 2023
‘Rank hypocrisy’: Farrell under fire over Labor US appointment
Ex-politician Chris Ketter was appointed Australia’s consul-general in San Francisco in July, pushing out an experienced woman who was the “preferred candidate”.
- Tom McIlroy
March 2023
- Opinion
- NSW Election
NSW’s zombie campaign has failed to catch fire
Labor should be set for a landslide victory against a government giving every indication of being in office too long. Yet there is little sign ‘the swing is on’.
- David Clune
John Barilaro cleared by NSW corruption watchdog
ICAC had been investigating the former deputy premier over his appointment to an international trade role in the United States.
- Updated
- Samantha Hutchinson
February 2023
Labor vows to end ‘jobs for mates’ culture of government boards
Compulsory advertising, professional selection processes and tracking board performance are expected in a review of federal government boards, authorities and tribunals.
- Tom Burton
Barilaro’s office excluded Labor seats bushfire funds
A report by the NSW Auditor-General reveals former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro’s office effectively excluded Labor electorates from urgent bushfire recovery funding.
- Stephanie Gardiner
November 2022
Barilaro London offer not ‘jobs for mates’
One of NSW’s highest-paid public servants says a job offer from former deputy premier John Barilaro “came out of left field” and was not a case of jobs for mates.
- Phoebe Loomes
October 2022
Shelved NSW trade boss ‘not shocked’ at being overlooked
A NSW trade commissioner passed over for the role of the state’s London agent-general said he ‘wasn’t shocked’ about missing out, despite emails showing he was the best man for the job.
- Phoebe Loomes
September 2022
Bureaucrat sacked over Barilaro scandal to get $450,000 payout
NSW taxpayers will pay nearly $500,000 to a senior bureaucrat who has been sacked after appointing former deputy premier John Barilaro to a lucrative overseas trade job.
- Finbar O'Mallon
- Exclusive
- State Parliament
Investment NSW boss Amy Brown leaves public service
Her departure bookends a tumultuous four months for the NSW government which began when John Barilaro was appointed to a plum US trade role
- Samantha Hutchinson
Ayres cleared of Barilaro intervention
A review has found that former trade minister Stuart Ayres complied with ministerial guidelines in his role in John Barilaro’s appointment to a prestigious US trade post.
- Samantha Hutchinson
Can David Elliott just resign already?
As NSW transport minister, Elliott has fashioned his negotiations with the rail union into a performative fiasco.
- Joe Aston
August 2022
Ukraine was reborn when Russia invaded, Zelensky says
Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed to recapture annexed Crimea in independence day speech; Ukraine braces for missile attacks; US, Germany to give Ukraine $5 billion in military aid. Follow updates here.
- Updated
- Georgie Moore and Campbell Kwan
- Exclusive
- State Parliament
Public servant who appointed Barilaro bows out of Investment NSW role
Amy Brown, the public servant who appointed John Barilaro to a controversial US trade post, said two probes had “reinforced the need” for a leadership shake-up.
- Samantha Hutchinson
Barilaro made ‘outlandish claims’: Kean
NSW Treasurer Matt Kean was grilled at budget estimates on Monday about an exchange of texts he had with the former deputy premier in the month the US trade job was formally advertised.
- Sam McKeith
Qld corruption watchdog’s transparency fight set for High Court
Queensland’s corruption watchdog wants the High Court to overturn a decision that suppresses its report on grafting; Scott Morrison says he was “happy to join in on the joke at his own expense” over secret ministries saga. How the day unfolded.
- Updated
- Georgie Moore and Campbell Kwan
- Analysis
- Inside Government
Lessons for all amid flawed Barilaro recruitment
The saga over a plum US posting is a sharp reminder of why good recruitment practices are so vital to the professional independence of the public service.
- Tom Burton
‘We were bypassed’ says business adviser who sat on Barilaro panel
The senior government adviser told an inquiry he felt he had been “bypassed” in the selection process as the probe shifts focus to a UK trade role.
- Samantha Hutchinson
‘Abrasive, rude megalomaniac’: Labor MP on Morrison’s secret ministry
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said former PM Scott Morrison’s media address about ghost ministry was “vintage Morrison”; former PM denies taking over portfolios, will not resign. How the day unfolded.
- Updated
- Georgie Moore and Campbell Kwan
MPs’ 18-month job ban after leaving politics: Barilaro report
The review made 13 recommendations to tighten hiring processes and says information handed to ministers during recruitment for the US post was “misleading”.
- Samantha Hutchinson