Former Investment NSW boss Amy Brown fired over Barilaro saga

Senior public servant Amy Brown has been fired over her role in appointing John Barilaro to a plum New York Trade role, leaving with a big payout worth nearly $500,000.

The public servant responsible for appointing John Barilaro to a plum New York trade role has been fired from the public service, walking away with a termination payment worth around $480,000.

Amy Brown was sacked as Department of Investment, Enterprise and Trade Secretary following an independent review which found that she failed to disclose key information to a government hiring panel and began negotiations with Mr Barilaro before the panel had made its final assessment.

Department of Premier and Cabinet boss Michael Coutts-Trotter said that after considering the findings of that review, he “decided that (Ms Brown) will not continue to hold office”.

Former Investment NSW boss Amy Brown gives evidence during the inquiry into the appointment of John Barilaro in New York. Picture: NCA Newswire

“It’s a privilege to hold a role as a senior leader in the NSW public service. With this, rightly, comes a high degree of accountability,” he said.

“I acknowledge that dealing with the events of recent months, and doing so under such intense public scrutiny, has weighed heavily on Ms Brown.”

“I want to thank her for her service.”

Ms Brown was terminated under a section of the Government Sector Employment Act which allows senior executives to be sacked “at any time, for any or no stated reason and without notice”.

That means she is entitled to a termination payment equivalent to 38 weeks’ salary – about $480,000.

Labor MP Penny Sharpe said the payout meant “from the very beginning, the appointment of the New York trade commissioner has (cost) hundreds of thousands of dollars to the NSW taxpayer and there is nobody in that position”.

John Barilaro faced public scrutiny after his appointment to New York trade job. Picture: Gaye Gerard / NCA Newswire

Amy Brown arrives before speaking to the inquiry at NSW Parliament House. Picture: Supplied

“That’s because the government chose a path to not allow a fully qualified woman to take up that role, to leave that open and change the way in which these appointments were made … This has cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. It has been a mess the entire way through. And it points to a government that just is so old and so tired that it never understood why this was a problem,” she said.

Mr Coutts-Trotter’s statement comes after Ms Brown told her LinkedIn followers that she was leaving the public service.

“After close to a decade working for the NSW Government, my tenure has come to an end — this is my last day in this role,” her post read.

“I joined NSW Government from the private sector in 2013, because I am passionate about improving the lives of all people of this State and because I wanted to serve the communities of NSW with this phase of my career.” she said.

The post continued: “As the CEO and Department Secretary, I have learned that leadership can, at times, be difficult. Courageous leadership is not always comfortable. But it is a necessary part of how the public service performs its professional role in support of responsible government.”

Greater Cities Commission CEO Elizabeth Mildwater has been appointed acting DEIT secretary for the next month.

“Ms Mildwater is a highly esteemed and respected colleague across the NSW public service and in industry and the not-for-profit sector,” Mr Coutts-Trotter said.