Dominic Perrottet ‘briefed on New York job last year’

Dominic Perrottet received a briefing note last year informing him that Jenny West had been identified as the successful applicant for the state’s lucrative New York trade commissioner posting.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet in the Japanese city of Hiroshima last week. Picture: Toby Zerna

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet received a briefing note last year informing him that former senior ­bureaucrat Jenny West had been identified as the successful applicant for the state’s lucrative New York trade commissioner posting, despite informing parliament in June that a suitable candidate had not been found.

A fresh cache of documents made public as part of the NSW parliamentary inquiry into how former deputy premier John Barilaro was appointed as the state’s $500,000-a-year US trade commissioner uncovered a briefing note sent to Mr Perrottet’s office in August last year.

Sent by Investment NSW, the ministerial briefing informs Mr Perrottet’s office that a “full recruitment process” for the senior trade investment commissioner Americas position had been undertaken and a “successful candidate identified”.

“After a full recruitment process, the successful candidate is Ms Jenny West,” the brief said.

“Investment NSW will liaise with the Treasurer’s office to offer a meeting between the Treasurer and Ms West to discuss priorities for international trade and investment for NSW, prior to her relocation to New York.”

Mr Perrottet has previously denied having seen the briefing note, which was unsigned and undated, but an email chain sent from his office to Investment NSW said the brief had been “noted”.

Part of a tranche of private and public documents made available by the Perrottet government, the briefing note appears to contradict what Mr Perrottet told the Legislative Assembly on June 22, when he insisted that the first round of the recruitment process had not identified a “suitable ­candidate”.

“I met with the Minister Enterprise, Investment and Trade this morning and I was advised the following; here are the facts – the first recruitment process did not identify a suitable candidate.

“As such, a second recruitment process was undertaken,” Mr Perrottet said.

Investment Minister Stuart Ayres, however, signed off on Ms West being the successful candidate, with a separate briefing note also appearing to conflict with evidence he provided to parliament during question time.

“It is important to recognise that at the end of the first round of recruitment, there was no suitable candidate identified,” Mr Ayres told the Legislative Assembly on June 22.

Mr Barilaro’s former chief of staff Mark Connell has alleged his ex-boss told him the state’s US trade posting was an opportunity for him to “get the f..k” out of this place, saying he would “get” the NSW government to move the headquarters from California to New York.

The former Nationals leader has stood down from the position, saying it was “untenable” given the level of media attention.

He has also called on Labor to stop playing politics and allow him to give evidence at the upper house inquiry.

In a statement, Mr Ayres said the signed brief did not seek “a decision from me” and it was consistent with the information he provided to the Legislative ­Assembly, saying the briefing note did not represent the “end of the recruitment process”.

With nine of 10 documents provided by the NSW government privileged and unable to be released publicly, Labor insisted it would follow through with its threat to recall the upper house on Friday unless the government withdrew its “claim of secrecy’’ over these documents.

Opposition Treasury spokesman Daniel Mookhey also rubbished any claims Mr Perrottet may have of plausible deniability, given he hadn’t signed the briefs.