Minns under pressure as minister dodges inquiry over $588k job

Former Labor staffer Josh Murray was appointed NSW Transport boss despite not being the preferred candidate - and after donating $500 to the Minister’s election campaign.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, NewsWire Photos. AUGUST 22, 2023. NSW Minister for Transport Jo Haylen speaking during question time inside NSW parliament. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Adam Yip

NSW Premier Chris Minns is under pressure to overturn the appointment of former Labor staffer Josh Murray as the state’s transport boss, with Transport Minister Jo Haylen refusing to appear before a parliamentary inquiry on Thursday.

Mr Murray was appointed to the plum $588,000 role as NSW transport secretary despite not being the candidate preferred by an independent panel and had donated $500 to Ms Haylen’s campaign at the state election, five months before she became minister.

Although campaign donations under $1000 do not need to be disclosed, Ms Haylen’s intervention to hand pick Mr Murray for the role has raised claims of a jobs-for-the-boys appointment.

Mr Murray, who was once chief of staff to former Labor premier Morris Iemma, is among several witnesses expected to give evidence on Thursday but Ms Haylen claims there is a “convention” for MPs and ministers not to attend upper house inquiries.

Transport for NSW secretary Josh Murray

Mr Minns has confirmed he was made aware of the donation “maybe three days” after Mr Murray, a former executive of construction firm Laing O’Rourke, was announced in the role. However, he said he did not believe the donations breached 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.

Ms Haylen maintains she made all the necessary disclosures and had no conflict of interest.

“What we’re talking about is a ticket to a fundraising event, six months before the election,” she told 2GB’s Ben Fordham on Tuesday in her only interview since the controversy began.

“To say that somehow I would give a very important senior public service job to someone who gave a $500 donation is completely absurd. That beggars belief.”

Premier, Chris Minns and Transport Minister, Jo Haylen, . Picture: NCA NewsWIRE/ Monique Harmer

The appointment has raised the spectre of the Coalition’s appointment of former deputy premier John Barilaro to a $500,000-a-year job as New York trade commissioner, a move that was pursued relentlessly by Labor in a parliamentary inquiry.

On Wednesday Deputy Premier Prue Car threw her support behind the embattled Transport minister, declaring the issue had been “blown a little bit out of proportion” and that Ms Haylen was entitled to hire someone who could fix the transport “mess” left by the previous government.

“She has declared everything she needs to declare … and she’s picked the best person for the job,” Ms Car said.

When Mr Murray first applied for position, his lack of experience was judged to have made him a “significant risk” but a recruitment panel later found that he would be “very suitable” for the role. The recruitment panel was not aware of the $500 campaign donation.

Mr Minns has conceded the government should not have paid $125,000 for an external recruitment process when the candidate had already been anointed.

“Given that Mr Murray was appointed to the job, obviously we wanted to make sure that we don’t spend that money when we don’t need to,” he told 2GB. “In retrospect it wasn’t required.”

Opposition leader Mark Speakman has called for an independent investigation into the affair, including Ms Haylen’s failure to disclose any conflict of interest under the Ministerial Code of Conduct.

“Jo Haylen is running scared, Jo Haylen is in hiding,” Mr Speakman said. “She won’t answer questions in Parliament. She won’t appear before the general media and she won’t front up to the Legislative Council inquiry.”

“Serious questions about her conduct and obligations under the Code are unanswered. This is a test of Premier Minns and his Government’s commitment to transparency, integrity, and accountability.”