Political storms on horizon for Dominic Perrottet

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet faces more political headwinds with the findings of a corruption inquiry into his predecessor Gladys Berejiklian likely to be released close to the state election.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet. Picture: NCA Newswire/ Gaye Gerard

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet faces more political headwinds with the findings of a corruption inquiry into his predecessor Gladys Berejiklian likely to be released close to the state election, and the growing possibility a further corruption probe will be called into the appointment of his former deputy John Barilaro to a plum New York job.

The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption confirmed on Tuesday that the term of the assistant commissioner heading the Berejiklian inquiry, former appeals court judge Ruth McColl, has been extended until the end of October.

The extension means ICAC findings on whether Ms Berejik­lian breached public trust during an undeclared personal relationship with former Liberal MP Daryl Maguire will be handed down less than five months before the state election in March.

Ms Berejiklian resigned on Oct­ober 1, denying any wrong­doing, and was succeeded by her then treasurer Mr Perrottet, after ICAC announced it would investigate a possible “dishonest or partial exercise” of Ms Berejiklian’s functions related to government grant funding for Mr Maguire’s Wagga Wagga electorate.

While the outcome of ICAC’s Berejiklian inquiry has no direct bearing on Mr Perrottet, who is not under investigation, senior government figures are worried adverse findings could damage NSW Coalition election chances.

Part of Mr Perrottet’s challenge in March will be to ward off perceptions the NSW government has been in power too long and is troubled by scandal.

Despite leading the state for only nine months, Mr Perrottet was senior in Ms Berejiklian’s government and is the fourth in a succession of Liberal premiers over three terms or 12 years in office.

A scandal over Mr Barilaro’s appointment to a $500,000-a-year trade commissioner’s job in New York erupted a fortnight ago when it was announced publicly, and the Perrottet government hopes it will fade from public attention after Mr Barilaro bowed to pressure last week and said he would not take up the post.

With two inquiries under way into the Barilaro appointment – one by an upper house parliamentary committee, another by Mr Perrot­tet’s department – Labor, Greens and Shooters and Fishers MPs running the parliamentary inquiry seem mindful of gathering evidence one step at a time.

There are rising concerns in government ranks that the Barilaro matter will be referred to ICAC for an inquiry, creating another political headache ahead of the state election.

The Perrottet government’s main difficulty stems from parliamentary committee evidence last week by the chief executive of Investment NSW, Amy Brown, that Mr Barilaro intervened as trade minister in late September, effectively blocking the appointment of another person to the New York job. He quit as deputy premier and trade minister a week later, on October 4, and applied for the job when it was re-advertised in mid-December.

Ms Brown was accountable to Mr Barilaro when he was trade minister. She was later the “final decision-maker” who appointed Mr Barilaro to the trade job.

Ms Brown confirmed to the parliamentary committee that she had offered the New York post to her former deputy at Investment NSW, Jenny West, only to rescind the offer following a directive relayed from Mr Barilaro that the job was to switch from being a public service to a ministerial ­appointment.

Mr Perrottet risks being drawn into any Barilaro investigation because he was part of the NSW cabinet decision in September that changed the New York job to a ministerial appointment. Investment NSW was also then under Mr Perrottet’s Treasury portfolio.