Report changed to make John Barilaro first choice for $500k New York trade job
The release of John Barilaro’s application for a New York trade job reveals the former deputy premier padded his CV with a role that was an “honorary title” for a project that never got off the ground.
NSW
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Former Deputy Premier John Barilaro only became the preferred candidate for a plum New York trade role after a selection panel report was changed to boost his ratings, documents released to parliament reveal.
The selection panel report, prepared as part of a recruitment process for the $500,000 per year New York Trade Commissioner job, initially deemed Mr Barilaro to be the second-ranked candidate.
However three months later, another selection panel report was issued, boosting Mr Barilaro’s rating for “Manage and Develop People”.
The initial report in March declared Mr Barilaro “meets” the focus capability of “manage and develop people”. The June report said that he “exceeds” the same capability.
After Mr Barilaro’s credentials were bolstered, he became the top ranked candidate.
Trade Minister Stuart Ayres said that Mr Barilaro’s credentials were boosted after Investment NSW CEO Amy Brown told the independent recruitment firm responsible that the first report was inaccurate.
“I understood that she emailed them almost instantaneously, to inform them to say that she did not believe that was an accurate representation and asked for that to be adjusted,” Mr Ayres said.
Ms Brown was the “Panel Lead” in interviewing four short-listed candidates. Documents reveal she said she had “no conflict of interest” in interviewing Mr Barilaro.
The initial report noted that Mr Barilaro had not previously had an international role “aligned to the experience expected” of the Trade Commissioner job and that he would have a “considerable learning curve in the role”.
The later report declared: “While (Mr Barilaro) would have a learning curve on doing business in the US, he had a strong track record of building teams as well as operating in a dynamic environment and had deep understanding of the NSW Trade and Investment environment”.
BARILARO LISTED JOB THAT ‘DOESN’T EXIST’
Anton Nilsson
John Barilaro claimed on his CV to be the director of a board that never actually existed, it can be revealed.
The application and resume that the former deputy premier lodged in his successful bid to be hired for a $500,000-a-year trade job in New York was released by the NSW parliament on Monday.
At the bottom resume, Mr Barilaro described himself as a “board director” of an entity called Smarter Regions CRC.
The CV, which was dated January 19, 2022, said Mr Barilaro’s position was “current”.
But the would-be Smarter Regions CRC chief executive said the project never got off the ground and the concept was being wound down by that time.
“Board director wouldn't have been exactly the correct term. We called ourselves a board but it was really an interim board of potential board members,” University of Adelaide business development manager and former Smarter Regions interim chief executive Paul Dalby said.
“There was never an organisation to be a board of … it doesn’t exist.”
Mr Dalby said Smarter Regions was a project that began being planned about two years ago.
The intention was to seek federal funding through a program called Cooperative Research Centres.
The project would have focused on harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence to assist regional businesses.
Mr Dalby said he and his colleagues approached Mr Barilaro in November last year to be a future board member.
But by December the funding application was rejected and the project faltered.
Mr Dalby said the group was still meeting in January, trying to decide how to move forward, before canning the idea the following month.
“ (Mr Barilaro) was keen to join the board if it was funded, but it was an honorary title, there was nothing for him to be a board member of,” Mr Dalby said.
A website for Smarter Regions CRC that was previously online has since been taken down.
However, an information brochure that was captured by an internet archiving service said an “interim board” had been established by August last year that included an economist, an AI entrepreneur and a “leading regional specialist communicator”.
Mr Barilaro’s CV was released as part of a parliamentary inquiry into the hiring process for the role of senior trade and investment commissioner to the Americas.
Investment NSW, which was responsible for the hiring process, did not answer questions about whether it sought to contact Smarter Regions CRC before hiring Mr Barilaro.
“(Investment NSW chief executive) Amy Brown will provide further information to the Legislative Council inquiry on Wednesday, 3 August 2022, and as such is not appropriate to make any further comment at this time,” a spokesperson said.
Mr Barilaro was contacted for comment.
AYRES: I SENT $500K NY AD TO BARILARO
At a press conference on Monday morning, besieged Trade Minister Ayres revealed he texted former Deputy Premier John Barilaro a copy of a job advertisement for a $500,000 per year New York trade role, but continued to insist that Mr Barilaro “was not treated differently” to any other candidate applying for the plum position.
He said that he had “discussion and engagement” with Ms Brown regarding the recruitment process which appointed Mr Barilaro. But Mr Ayres maintained he did not “influence” the recruitment process.
However Mr Ayres revealed that he sent Mr Barilaro a copy of a job advertisement after it had been placed in the Australian Financial Review.
He said that came after Mr Barilaro “reached out … to ask about the role”.
‘I WON’T STEP DOWN’: AYRES
Mr Ayres insisted he will not step down as Deputy Liberal Leader despite calls from his colleagues.
“There is no reason for me to stand aside,” he said.
Mr Ayres maintained the selection process was entirely the responsibility of Ms Brown, but denied that he was hanging the public servant out to dry.
“I’m going to reject very clearly the suggestion of … throwing Amy Brown under the bus,” he said.
Earlier, The Daily Telegraph revealed Mr Ayres had phoned colleagues to reassure them he did nothing wrong regarding Mr Barilaro’s appointment to the trade role.
The Daily Telegraph was told Mr Ayres was phoning colleagues to tell them due process was followed, in a bid to calm calls for him to stand aside. But his insistence that he is in the clear has not convinced the Trade Minister’s colleagues, who believe the saga is causing increasing damage to the government.
Mr Ayres is under further pressure on Monday as the government publicly releases a trove of documents relating to Mr Barilaro’s appointment which have previously been kept secret.
A review into the appointment from former public service commissioner Graeme Head is also set to be released as early as this week.
Premier Dominic Perrottet has been holding off on taking any action in the matter until he receives that report, and has repeatedly pledged to adopt any recommendations Mr Head makes.
One Liberal told The Daily Telegraph the issue needed to be sorted out “this week”.
Another said Mr Ayres was assuring colleagues Mr Barilaro’s appointment was handled independently of government by Investment NSW CEO Amy Brown.
That’s despite documents released to parliament last week which declared that Mr Ayres wanted a name added to the “short shortlist” of candidates for the New York Trade Commissioner role.
Mr Ayres last week said the candidate in question was not Mr Barilaro and insisted Ms Brown was responsible for recommending candidates for the short list – not him.
Ms Brown will again front a parliamentary inquiry into Mr Barilaro’s appointment on Wednesday.
In a statement, Mr Ayres told The Telegraph he has “always respected the independence and apolitical nature of the public service”.
“John Barilaro was selected by the public service after it conducted an independent and meritorious based recruitment process,” he said.
“I continue to reject any proposition that suggests the (trade commissioner) role was created or it’s (sic) recruitment was orchestrated for the benefit of John Barilaro.”
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