Analysis: Dominic Perrottet feeling the pressure as trade tour derailed by MP scandals
As Dominic Perrottet and Stuart Ayres let off steam in Mumbai ahead of their trip home today, a “frustrating” set of scandals have threatened to take the shine off the government’s trade tour.
NSW
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Dominic Perrottet did not hold back in the nets at the Mumbai Cricket Association on Thursday.
Facing the first delivery of a staged practice session for the Mumbai Under-19s cricket team the Premier smacked the ball over the imaginary covers into the back nets at speed. Onlookers gasped, and ducked.
It was clear the Premier wanted to let off some steam.
Perrottet left for India last Wednesday facing two scandals damaging to his government – the fiasco following former Deputy Premier John Barilaro’s appointment to a plum New York trade role, and a corruption watchdog finding former Liberal minister John Sidoti engaged in “corrupt conduct” while in office.
As he prepared to fly home on Friday, he was hit with a third – former staffers accusing the minister for safe workplaces, Eleni Petinos, of overseeing an “unsafe” work environment in which she used the word “retarded” and “stupid” towards an employee.
Ms Petinos denies the allegations, and the Premier says they have been handled to his satisfaction.
The Barilaro scandal has only got worse for the Premier and his government. Liberal Ministers are increasingly forming the view that embattled Trade Minister Stuart Ayres needs to stand aside.
Trouble was looming for the trade tour before it even started, and the situation never really improved.
As one senior Liberal said, while the Premier was overseas, “Rome is burning”.
On the ground, meetings are said to have been extremely fruitful. In India, the Premier met with major tech companies. In South Korea and Japan, the focus was on clean hydrogen – which NSW plans to export in massive quantities amid skyrocketing demand.
But a jam packed schedule saw the Premier rushing from one engagement to the next while trying to make as many meetings as possible.
The fatigue had set in by Friday at a virtual reality demonstration by information security company Infosys, which has recently opened an office in North Sydney. (Although Perrottet was re-energised by squaring off against a virtual Novak Djokovic in a VR-tennis simulation.)
The Premier admitted it is “frustrating” that his trip was derailed by events back home, but said it was important to go on his trade mission to secure more investment for NSW.
While those distractions meant the trip was hardly a roaring success, the investors looking to spend money in NSW meant it was not a disaster either.
But as the Premier tried to spruik the very roles which have embroiled his government in scandal back home, the trade tour was definitely a circus.
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