Premier leaves turmoil at home as he sets off on overseas trade mission

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet is flying overseas on a trade mission as his government is engulfed in turmoil, after a former Liberal cabinet minister was found corrupt and an ex-senior Coalition staffer claimed John Barilaro told him he was creating a plum New York role for his post-politics life.

Perrottet left Sydney bound for Tokyo on Wednesday night after an extraordinary day in which the former chief of staff to former deputy premier Barilaro claimed his boss told him in 2019 that a future US trade role would be “the job for when I get the f--- out of this place”.

John Barilaro with Dominic Perrottet in 2021.Credit: Rhett Wyman

Barilaro has strongly rejected the claim, contained in a statement from long-time Coalition adviser Mark Connell to the parliamentary committee investigating Barilaro’s controversial appointment as US trade commissioner.

The statement was published by the committee hours before the corruption watchdog revealed its finding that Drummoyne MP John Sidoti engaged in serious corrupt conduct, forcing Perrottet to call for his resignation or else the government would trigger a vote of no confidence.

Sidoti has refused the premier’s request, vowing to lodge an application in the Supreme Court to clear his name.

The premier’s trade mission will start in Tokyo, where he will officially open the trade commissioner’s office. The delegation will then head to South Korea and India, where Minister for Enterprise, Investment and Trade Stuart Ayres will join the premier.

Former deputy premier John Barilaro and his then-chief of staff, Mark Connell in 2020.Credit: Janie Barrett

The alleged conversation between Connell and Barilaro took place about April 2019, after Barilaro purportedly returned from a meeting with then-treasurer Perrottet and then-industry minister Ayres to discuss the restoration of the agent-general position in the UK.

“After this meeting, Mr Barilaro came directly to my office. He said, ‘I’ve just come from a meeting with Dom and Stuart regarding trade, and we’re going to bring back the Agent General in London as well as a bunch of other postings around the world’,” Connell’s statement, now tabled in parliament, read.

“He then stated, ‘This is it; this is the job for when I get the f--- out of this place’. I responded to Mr Barilaro and stated, ‘but John, the Agent General role will be filled well before you retire from this place’.”

Connell claimed Barilaro then told him: “I don’t want to go to London, f--- that, I’m off to New York ... I’ll get them to put one in New York, that’s where I’m off too [sic].

“The conversation in relation to this matter then ended,” the statement read. The letter has been referred to the corruption watchdog, which is already considering whether to investigate the circumstances of Barilaro’s appointment.

On Wednesday, Barilaro rejected Connell’s claims in a statement released soon after the submission became public.

“The conversation he has recalled is fictitious, false and only serves as a reminder as to why we had to part ways,” Barilaro said.

“If this inquiry is genuine in its intent to understand the process and the truth by which I was appointed, then surely I would be called up to provide this detail immediately.

“The continued drip feed of select information from the inquiry into the public domain goes against all procedural fairness.”

Barilaro has since withdrawn from the role.

Connell is a long-time Liberal staffer and a former deputy state director of the NSW Liberal Party. He previously worked for former NSW premier John Fahey, and as an adviser on energy policy in Treasurer Matt Kean’s office after leaving Barilaro’s office. He is now a private consultant.

In a statement, Perrottet said he had numerous discussions with Barilaro and Ayres in 2019 regarding the establishment of Global NSW.

“At no point in any of those discussions was it ever raised that the former deputy premier may want to hold a position as a trade commissioner,” he said.

Ayres said Barilaro did not indicate an interest in a trade commissioner position at any stage of the Global NSW strategy development.

“I reject in the strongest possible terms any suggesting or inference that the recruitment for the [state trade and investment commissioner] Americas role was orchestrated to deliver the role to Mr Barilaro,” he said, adding that the suggestion was “incredibly offensive”.

In the three-page statement published by the inquiry on Wednesday, Connell said his employment with Barilaro ended following a mutual agreement “due to Mr Barilaro ceasing to take my advice and seeking outside counsel”.

John Barilaro and Stuart Ayres.Credit: Rhett Wyman, Janie Barrett

Connell wrote that he believed in following the due processes of good governance and felt the alleged incident was of interest or value to the parliamentary inquiry.

“I did not have any involvement, knowledge, or discussions with any persons, in relation to this particular matter, prior to, or proceeding this ‘isolated’ discussion with Mr Barilaro,” he wrote.

NSW Labor leader Chris Minns said Connell’s statement was troubling because it suggested “the selection process was rigged and that there’s been a month-long cover-up to prevent the people of NSW getting access to the real information”.

Leader of the opposition in the upper house Penny Sharpe said Barilaro was informed in advance that the statement was being published and welcomed him to appear before the public inquiry.

“I think that the point we’re getting to, too, is that it’s clear both Mr Ayres and Mr Perrottet are going to have to come before the committee sooner rather than later,” she said.

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