Report slams John Barilaro and Dominic Perrottet over conduct

John Barilaro ‘inappropriately interfered’ during the appointment of NSW’s agent-general in Britain while Dominic Perrottet ‘impeded’ efforts to investigate his role in the recruitment process, a parliamentary ­report had found.

Former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro and Premier Dominic Perrottet. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

Former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro “inappropriately interfered” during the appointment of Stephen Cartwright as the state’s agent-general in Britain, while Premier Dominic Perrottet “impeded” efforts to investigate his role in the recruitment process, a parliamentary ­report had found.

Handed down on Monday morning, the upper house public accountability committee’s probe into how Mr Cartwright, the former chief executive of Business NSW, was identified and ultimately appointed to the London-based role concluded the recruitment process “lacked integrity and transparency”.

Mr Cartwright’s appointment as the agent-general to the UK came under the microscope during the parliamentary inquiry into how Mr Barilaro was selected as the state’s New York trade commissioner, with public hearings delving into the appropriateness of both selections.

Chaired by Greens upper house member Cate Faerhmann, the committee’s report delivered six findings critical of the role Mr Barilaro played in the identification of Mr Cartwright, the Premier’s refusal to front the hearings, and the department’s acquiescence to salary demands.

“John Barilaro inappropriately interfered in the selection process for the agent-general UK by failing to meet with the preferred candidate and instead directly approaching Stephen Cartwright and soliciting his candidacy,” the first finding states.

Despite the selection panel initially identifying Paul Webster as the preferred candidate, Mr Cartwright told the public hearings he had been approached by Mr Barilaro asking whether he would be interested in the role, telling him his salary expectations could be met by the government.

Mr Barilaro’s decision to insert himself into Mr Cartwright’s salary negotiations was “highly inappropriate and showed poor judgment”, the report states.

It also finds the Premier’s failure to attend the hearings undermined the committee’s ability to determine his role in the selection of Mr Cartwright, as well as determining his remuneration.

A dissenting statement written by Coalition members of the committee slammed the report as a “politically motivated hit job”, accusing the Greens and Labor members of confecting the report’s findings in an “attempt to score political points” with the state election on the horizon.

“There is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that the Premier, the then-treasurer, and the former deputy premier inappropriately influenced the agent-general posting. Ultimately, this was a panel decision considered by the NSW cabinet,” they wrote.

Mr Barilaro was contacted for comment.