Crackdown to stop former ministers taking government jobs straight out of office
Ministers will be banned from directing department secretaries on who they should hire to the public service as a part of a review of the government’s recruitment of John Barilaro as trade commissioner.
NSW
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Ministers will be banned from directing department secretaries on who they should hire to the public service as Premier Dominic Perrottet vows to adopt 12 out of 13 recommendations from a review of the government’s recruitment of John Barilaro as trade commissioner.
The change will be enacted in the Government Sector Employment Act to ensure the rules are made clearer despite already being enshrined in the Ministerial Code of Conduct.
Premier Dominic Perrottet said clear new rules will help fix “flaws in the system” that he said he was unaware of until they were exposed by the Barilaro saga.
An amendment to the GSE Act will ensure the full rules based merit process is upheld in future recruitment for plum trade roles.
Another amendment will legislate a code of ethics and conduct for the public service.
Mr Perrottet said a new parliamentary joint committee will also be established to monitor and review the exercise of the public service commissioner.
The Premier said there were mistakes in every government and lessons have been learnt by his cabinet.
The 13th recommendation was adopted “in principle”.
Mr Perrottet said neither Mr Barilaro or any of his ministers knew of the “flaws in the process”.
He stopped short of criticising the appointment of Stephen Cartwright as the Agent General to London — an appointment that has also raised eyebrows about how it was conducted.
“That was a cabinet appointment… it was sent to the cabinet in error,” he said.
“I’m not across the exact details in relation to the Agent General.”
CRACKDOWN SET TO STOP FORMER MINISTERS TAKING GOVERNMENT JOBS
The response came after The Telegraph revealed this morning that former NSW ministers would face more restrictions on what jobs they apply for immediately after leaving office.
Earlier, The Daily Telegraph revealed that as part of the response to a review conducted by former public service commissioner Graeme Head, Ministers will be prevented from taking certain government jobs immediately after taking office.
The Telegraph understands that the measure was agreed to in a cabinet subcommittee meeting late on Monday night.
Former Ministers are already restricted in taking private sector jobs relating to their portfolios immediately after taking office. Any former Minister looking for work relating to their old portfolios within 18 months of leaving politics currently needs to seek advice from the Parliamentary Ethics Adviser before accepting a new role.
Former Ministers looking to take jobs representing the state of NSW do not currently need to seek advice.
The Telegraph understands that extra restrictions will be placed on former ministers seeking government employment, which may have prevented Mr Barilaro from applying for a $500,000 per year trade role just three months after resigning as Trade Minister.
Details of the crackdown were being tightly held on Monday night.
However The Telegraph understands that the new rules are likely to prohibit Ministers from taking NSW Government jobs relating to their portfolios immediately after they quit.
The new rules were not expected to prevent an MP returning to a private sector career they had prior to entering politics.
Mr Head’s long-awaited review into Mr Barilaro’s appointment was initially due to be finalised in July. Its deadline was later extended until August 5.
Mr Perrottet last week received draft excerpts of the $80,000 review which raised questions about whether Trade Minister Stuart Ayres had breached Section 5 of the Ministerial Code of Conduct, in revelations which led to Mr Ayres’ resignation.
Mr Head was prevented from asking Mr Ayres questions over the matter, with another inquiry set to probe whether any wrongdoing occurred.
It is understood that the crackdown on Ministers taking government jobs immediately after leaving office was not included in Mr Head’s recommendations.
Mr Perrottet has consistently said that he would impose additional changes over and above recommendations contained in Mr Head’s inquiry.
Mr Barilaro was set to face further questions about his New York appointment on Friday, before pulling out of a parliamentary committee hearing due to mental ill-health.
It is understood that Mr Barilaro has said he will appear again at a later hearing.
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