There are too many jobs for the boys, but Iemma’s appointment isn’t one

Morris Iemma quit as NSW premier a long time ago but unlike many contemporary MPs he still attracts admiration as a good, decent and honest politician, making the furore around his appointment as the chairman of Venues NSW hard to comprehend.

NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman has seized upon his appointment to run the government agency that controls the state’s biggest stadiums as blatant cronyism, and threw in the employment of Iemma’s two sons by Premier Chris Minns for good measure. “This is no longer just jobs for the boys; the Minns government is looking like they’re a job agency for the Iemma family, and trying to reunite his former office in the public sector,” Speakman said.

Attacking appointments of former politicians to government posts is a mandatory chapter in opposition rule books but the NSW Coalition’s track record on appointments in government means it comes to this fight with little credibility.

Former NSW premier Morris Iemma will become chair of Venues NSW.Credit: Renee Nowytarger

Iemma also comes to his latest job uniquely qualified. Before taking over as premier from Bob Carr in 2005, one of his portfolios included minister for sport and recreation and since leaving political life he has served on the board of Football NSW, the Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Trust and chaired the Usman Khawaja Foundation. Speakman also appeared to have missed the fact that previous Coalition governments have liked the cut of Iemma’s jib and supported him for several jobs, including as chairman of Greyhound Racing NSW.

Iemma’s Venues NSW job has rekindled memories of the scandal surrounding the appointment of former deputy premier John Barilaro to a $500,000 a year job as a trade commissioner in New York. A public servant had already been verbally promised the post but Barilaro was parachuted in, and the resulting media coverage was bruising for Dominic Perrottet who had been premier for less than a year. A NSW parliamentary inquiry subsequently found that Barilaro’s appointment had all the hallmarks of a “jobs for the boys” scheme.

Speakman’s recourse to the same phrase for Iemma is ill-judged hyperbole. First, the appointment is far removed from the level of scandal that attended Barilaro’s position: that affair involved at least six times the annual salary of the Venues NSW role, was a highly dubious process and required the jettisoning of a public servant already offered the job to give the position to the former politician.

By way of contrast, Iemma had been widely tipped for the post since Labor won office in March following the resignation of businessman Tony Shepherd the month before. Nevertheless, the position was advertised and the Premier’s Department and Office of Sport led the appointment process for the role. An assessment panel shortlisted the candidates and a final selection panel comprised International Olympics Committee vice president John Coates, Office of Sport chief executive Karen Jones and Axiom managing director Peter Perry. Further, the amount of money involved in Iemma’s new job – reportedly about $70,000 a year – paled in comparison to Barilaro’s salary package.

Iemma received unexpected bipartisan support yesterday from former Liberal premier Mike Baird, who told 2GB host Ben Fordham that politics needed to move above tit-for-tat: “This is an outstanding appointment, not only has he done great public service, he’s very qualified for this role and his passion for sport is evident,” Baird said. “We should just say ‘good on you, Morris, get on with it’.”

That said, the political brawl around Iemma’s new job illustrates how readily such appointments can feed into the perception that jobs for the boys are increasingly being used as handy retirement gigs for many former MPs. For the new Minns government, wasting such talent and experience has the potential to be a bad outcome for NSW but Labor must be careful to never treat taxpayers like fools.

Bevan Shields sends an exclusive newsletter to subscribers each week. Sign up to receive his Note from the Editor.