In defending the indefensible, the Minns government is treating the NSW public like idiots

The latest jobs-for-the-boys scandal engulfing Transport Minister Jo Haylen represents a key test for the relatively new premier, Chris Minns. Is he a man of his word or not? Is he a premier who believes in integrity and accountability or not? Does he respect taxpayers or does he plan to treat them like idiots?

NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen.Credit: Edwina Pickles

At the height of last year’s John Barilaro job saga, Minns penned an opinion piece for the Herald in which he promised Labor would adhere to the highest levels of probity should the party return to government after 12 years in the political wilderness.

“I have seen the drift and the grift, the dramas and the scandals, the self-obsession and self-aggrandising that consumes a government from within when they decide to put their own political hopes and dreams ahead of the public good,” Minns wrote last August.

“If I have learned anything about integrity from my time in politics, it’s that even though integrity is a noun, as a politician – and as the leader of a party – you are better off thinking of it as a verb. It’s not an outcome you reach, it is a continuous and relentless determination to place integrity at the heart of all your decisions and actions, and that’s precisely what all sides of politics in New South Wales need to do.”

Importantly, Minns also noted that a lack of integrity often doesn’t manifest itself in large rackets or kickbacks and bribes. “It could also be a culture of spending public money for political ends or misusing taxpayer-funded positions for cronies and pals,” he noted.

Minns’ lofty words of August 2022 look hollow this week as he digs in to protect a minister who has proven herself unworthy of high office. Having narrowly survived the furore over the appointment of Josh Murray – a friend of Haylen and Minns, former chief of staff to Morris Iemma and minor Labor Party donor – the new secretary of NSW Transport, Haylen is again under fire courtesy of a fresh jobs-for-the-boys scandal.

The latest episode involves a public servant with links to the Labor Party being appointed to work in Haylen’s ministerial office as a departmental liaison officer – a role which is meant to be politically neutral. Kieren Ash, who ran Labor’s unsuccessful campaign in the inner west seat of Balmain, was seconded to the role after a request from Haylen’s chief of staff Scott Gartrell. The appointment sparked concerns from several senior public servants, including the highly respected bureaucrat Howard Collins. Documents published by the Herald on Friday revealed Ash subsequently engaged in political work while in Haylen’s office, including collating a list of Coalition backflips and organising a barbecue to celebrate Labor’s election win.

Ash is now being investigated by the department, and Gartrell resigned abruptly on Friday after the Herald broke the story.

Quizzed on Sunday about whether Haylen knew what Ash was up to, Minns effectively said that even if that was the case, Haylen should stay because she’s responsible for a big department in need of stability.

The drama surrounding a “particular issue with a relatively junior member of staff”, Minns argued, “has to be weighed against the major changes and reforms” Haylen has embarked upon within her portfolio. He also said he did not want the transport leadership to be “chopped and changed while we’re at such a crucial point in literally getting the trains back on track”.

That defence sets a bizarre new standard of accountability in public office – that a minister can avoid consequences provided they are doing a big job. That the job itself is somehow more important than the means being used to do it. This is an alarming message to send to other ministers.

Minns also claimed the public isn’t interested in Haylen’s conduct because they just want trains to run on time. The latter part may be true. But isn’t it possible commuters also want the people in charge of the expenditure of taxpayer funds to hold and practise the highest ethical standards? To suggest the public is so singularly focused on performance – and not how a government uses scarce resources for its political benefit – is insulting.

At a separate press conference, Haylen repeatedly refused to categorically deny any knowledge that Ash was engaged in political activities during his time in her office. The Herald’s Max Maddison asked her this question four times and still did not get a clear answer.

Like Minns, she also claimed that her chief of staff, Scott Gartrell, was always headed for the exit. Asked clearly whether Gartrell had resigned over the Ash affair, Haylen replied: “His term was limited with our government, he was never intending to stay much longer than the end of the year.”

Haylen also dodged questions about whether she had asked for Ash to be seconded to her office, simply saying the process was managed by Gartrell. The most Haylen could bring herself to concede was that her office should not have asked Transport for NSW for particular liaison officers and should have left it to the department to send who they thought most appropriate. “Lessons have been learnt and I acknowledge them going forward,” Haylen said.

This scandal is far from over. The NSW opposition has accused Haylen of breaking the ministerial code of conduct, which is a sackable offence. The code clearly states ministers have “a responsibility to ensure that they do not act in a way that would place others, including public servants, in a position that would require them to breach the law or their own ethical obligations.” Haylen will also be grilled about the saga at a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday.

Labor has more than three years left to run in this term and is well-placed to win again at the next poll in 2027. If we settle for this level of standards so early in a government’s life, who knows how low they will sink over the coming years.

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