‘Worst possible look’: Hand-picked transport secretary under pressure to resign

NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen’s hand-picked departmental secretary, Josh Murray, is under pressure to resign just six weeks into his tenure as the scandal over his appointment intensifies.

Two of the nation’s most eminent lawyers, Anthony Whealy KC and Geoffrey Watson SC, told the Herald Murray’s position appeared untenable given the flawed recruitment process that resulted in his appointment to the $588,250-a-year role.

The opposition also demanded Murray and Haylen both step down.

Transport Minister Jo Haylen.Credit: Louise Kennerley

A former executive at construction giant Laing O’Rourke and once former premier Morris Iemma’s chief of staff, Murray was handed the position despite not being initially recommended for the role and warnings a lack of experience made him a “significant risk”. A three-person recruitment panel later found that Murray would be “very suitable” for the secretary role.

His appointment came under renewed scrutiny after revelations Murray and his wife had made separate donations totalling $750 to Haylen’s election campaign in 2022.

Whealy said the saga was almost as egregious as the Coalition’s appointment of former deputy premier John Barilaro to a plum New York trade role, and was the “worst look possible” for the newly elected Labor government.

Premier Chris Minns has defended Transport Minister Jo Haylen over the appointment of Josh Murray as transport secretary.Credit: Adam Yip, LinkedIn

A former Independent Commission Against Corruption assistant commissioner and former Supreme Court judge, Whealy suggested the series of revelations left the government with a difficult decision to make.

“Although it probably doesn’t fall into the Barilaro category, it’s not too far beneath it. And certainly in terms of the optics, it’s really bad,” he told the Herald.

“The minister is really being pushed to consider terminating [Murray’s] appointment. The method by which has been selected is so poor that it’s difficult to see that the minister can withstand the pressure.”

While not large, the donations – combined with interventions by Haylen’s office throughout the $125,000 recruitment process to ensure Murray progressed to the final stages – had corrupted the “integrity of the appointment”, Whealy said.

In a call for calm, Labor elder and former deputy premier John Watkins told the Herald he had watched the saga “with growing heartache”. Murray was a senior adviser and chief of staff to Watkins for three years before his elevation to Iemma’s office.

“Josh was the most able and talented adviser that I had the privilege to work with in almost 10 years as minister,” Watkins said. “After a long and successful career in the private sector, he deserves this role.

“This controversy risks the people of NSW losing a fine man who is committed to public service and whose skills and intelligence are necessary to address the problems in the transport system that are currently so evident.”

But Watson, a director of the Centre for Public Integrity and a former counsel assisting the ICAC, said if Murray was unwilling to fall on his sword, Haylen or Premier Chris Minns should step in to end his tenure.

“Somebody has been appointed to a public office who seems to have a pre-existing connection with the minister; a party-political connection … it’s just wrong,” Watson said.

“I see the actual donations, which were small in size, simply being just a symptom of the pre-existing relationship. Mr Murray ... wasn’t suited to the job. He should step down.”

The Coalition’s appointment of Barilaro to the $500,000-a-year Americas trade posting led to a months-long inquiry into the affair, ultimately leading to the departure from cabinet of the then trade minister Stuart Ayres.

Opposition Leader Mark Speakman on Tuesday said the resignation of Murray would be in the public interest, arguing the recruitment process demonstrated he was not the most qualified applicant for the role.

“I don’t think Josh Murray is the best person for the appointment. He should never have been appointed. It would be in the public interest for him to resign because we would then have a more suitable person in the job,” he said.

In comments provided to the Herald, Murray said: “I have been hired to do a tough job and I’m fully committed to the task of helping deliver a world-class transport network for the people of NSW.”

Speaking to Ben Fordham on 2GB on Tuesday, Haylen said she was not required under law to disclose the two separate donations from Murray and his wife.

She rejected calls for her own resignation, insisting she had been “really honest and open” throughout the recruitment process.

Murray’s donations were two tickets purchased to an election fundraiser for her campaign, Haylen said, saying the claims she awarded the former Laing O’Rourke executive the highly remunerated position in exchange for the donations were ludicrous.

“So to say that … somehow, I would give a very important senior public service job because someone … gave me a $500 donation is completely absurd. That beggars belief,” she said.

With pressure mounting on his minister, Minns said he did not believe the donations represented a breach of the ministerial code of conduct.

“I don’t believe that purchasing a ticket to a fundraising dinner constitutes the minister being influenced in terms of her public duty, so I believe that she had followed the correct process,” he said.

An unsuccessful candidate for the top transport role, Benedicte Colin, last month quit as chief executive of the state-owned Transport Asset Holding Entity. She is on annual leave for about a month and her last day in the role could be as late as January due to her contract and notice period.

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