Analysis: Ministers urge Dominic Perrottet to stand Trade MInister Stuart Ayres aside

ANALYSIS: A lack of swift action at the start of the John Barilaro US trade post saga has led to an entrenched problem that the Premier will find hard to turn around.

Premier Dominic Perrottet is being urged by his own ministers to stand aside his under-fire Trade Minister Stuart Ayres for the sake of the government.

Some senior Liberals believe that Mr Ayres should spare the Premier and should himself take the initiative and stand aside to end the distraction, despite denying Labor claims that he misled parliament.

But, as has been the theme in this protracted New York trade post saga involving the appointment of former deputy premier John Barilaro, both the Premier and Deputy Liberal Leader are digging in.

Whether through poor judgment or bad advice, the lack of swift action at the very start has led to what is now an entrenched scandal that the Coalition will find hard to turn around before March.

And as the revelations of staff bullying allegations levelled at the office of NSW Fair Trading Minister Eleni Petinos have shown, every new scandal, misstep and bungle will add to the narrative of a government that has lost its way. Ms Petinos has denied the claims but they add to a picture of a government in its final death throes.

Premier Dominic Perrottet was whisked away through a private airport exit when he landed in Sydney on Saturday night. Picture: Damian Shaw

And if the rumours are true, there is more to come in this saga too, much of which is expected to be prised out at the upcoming NSW Budget Estimates.

But back to Barilaro, setting aside the very many conspiracy theories that a deal of some sort was done between government ministers and the former Nationals leader to facilitate his exit out of parliament, if it was as simple as Mr Barilaro expressing his interest in the job — he mentioned it to Mr Perrottet at a social setting — the brakes should have been activated right there.

Under-fire Trade Minister Stuart Ayres with the Premier in Mumbai this week. Picture: James O’Doherty.

At the very least, the appointment was going to generate a “jobs for the boys” headline – which might be fine if the government was not about to head into an election.

But as public furore erupted over the appointment — possibly made worse by the focus on the fact the announcement appeared to be hidden via a sneaky Friday afternoon press release on the eve of the NSW Budget — Mr Barilaro should have been told to stand down pending an immediate review.

The delay in acting gave the state opposition and crossbench the opportunity to establish an inquiry — the recommendations of which no one will care about — but whose power lies in the conga line of witnesses, including disgruntled bureaucrats with an axe to grind.

And as Labor leader Paul Keating famously told then-opposition leader John Hewson about wanting to “do him slowly” after being asked why he would not call an early election, the NSW Opposition will also be trying drag out the inquiry as long as it possibly can.

Fair Trading Minister Eleni Petinos has denied claims ex-staffers have made about the culture in her office. Picture: AAP Image

The other odd decision was embarking on a 10-day overseas trade mission in the midst of a crisis — and not cutting the trip short when it was clear matters were escalating.

In a what at times felt like an alternate reality, Mr Perrottet and Mr Ayres were tweeting photographs from their trip at the same time as Labor was promoting new “evidence” it had uncovered supporting its theory that something seriously rotten must have occurred in the US trade commissioner appointment process.

Mr Ayres stands accused of misleading parliament, after declaring last month how no suitable candidate had been found despite documents suggesting otherwise.

He has stated that he was relying on the advice of his department secretary Amy Brown.

In March, Mr Ayres told Budget Estimates that the reason the initial selection ­process for the New York trade post was “withdrawn” was ­because of “Covid”.

Former deputy premier John Barilaro’s appointment to the US trade commissioner post is causing all sorts of trouble for the government. Picture NCA Newswire/ Gaye Gerard.

Mr Ayres has also declared he kept the appointment process at arm’s length, despite documents suggesting he recommended a shortlist of candidates.

And in a train wreck of a press conference, Mr Ayres also told reporters that he had not met with Mr Barilaro when he was identified as the preferred candidate, despite a document suggesting otherwise.

A statement later issued by Investment NSW in relation to the document declared the suggestion was incorrect and blamed it on a “clerical error”.

But politics is all about optics, and the growing consensus among increasingly despairing colleagues is that Mr Ayres should stand aside pending the inquiry — or even until March.

“He should be realising that government is bigger than yourself,” one Liberal figure said.

“Ironically, if he did, his reputation would be enhanced — a selfless act for the good of the government to give Dom a chance.

“Dom wants to do good things for the state, but he needs his team to support him.”

And if not, then Perrottet himself needs to start making the tough calls.

But last night the Premier ran out of a back door and avoided questions as he touched down in Sydney. He was whisked away through a private airport exit by his security detail.

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