US icare ‘agent had conflict of interest’

The American policy adviser at the centre of a scandal engulfing icare was involved in a decision to deny key documents being released to the NSW opposition.

NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet. Picture: Bianca De Marchi

The American policy adviser at the centre of a scandal engulfing the NSW Treasurer’s office and the insurance agency icare was involved in a decision to deny key documents being released to the state opposition as part of their investigation into impropriety at the agency.

Emails obtained by The Australian reveal Edward Yap, a political operative with extensive ties to the US Republican party, assisted with the collation of documents relating to icare and the decision over whether they should be released to parliament.

The NSW Labor opposition had sought the documents to highlight numerous alleged failings at the agency amid a string of allegations, including poor financial management and conflict of interest concerns.

The insurance agency was established to assist sick and injured workers return to their employment; it is funded by premiums paid by about 320,000 employers and 202 NSW government ­agencies.

Last week, Treasurer Dominic Perrottet confirmed that Mr Yap was brought into his office as a senior policy adviser on a secondment funded out of the icare budget. Another worker, an administrative assistant, was also seconded to Mr Perrottet’s office under similar arrangements.

Secondments of this kind are routine and lawful, but Mr Yap’s employment timeline suggests he never worked a day at the insurance agency and may have been given the job to facilitate the ­secondment.

Mr Perrottet has confirmed that requisite paperwork relating to Mr Yap’s employment had not been filed because of an “administrative oversight”, meaning the arrangement was in breach of regulations.

Mr Yap’s contract was terminated last week and Mr Perrottet’s chief of staff, Nigel Freitas, resigned over the matter.

Mr Perrottet conceded in a statement that all staffing arrangements were “formally delegated to the chief of staff, including employment contracts, hiring and firing.”

The order to release the icare documents was prompted by NSW Labor in May through the use of an Order for Papers, a mechanism used to compel government agencies to release emails, minutes of meetings, correspondence and other sensitive documents normally withheld by departments.

The order was opposed by the NSW Treasurer’s office but ultimately proceeded when NSW Labor forced the matter using its numbers in the upper house. Emails relating to the decision-making process reveal that when queried about the matter, a staff member in Mr Perrottet’s office wrote: “Yep, I think Ed (Mr Yap) is working with icare right now.”

Less than 20 minutes later, the same staff member wrote a ­follow-up email confirming the Order for Papers would be ­opposed — Mr Yap was carbon-copied into this email.

NSW Labor’s finance spokesman Daniel Mookhey said Mr Yap’s involvement with the decision raises the perception of a conflict of interest. “It raises questions about whether Mr Yap involved himself in blocking other attempts to hold icare accountable for ruining the NSW workers compensation ­system,” he said.

Mr Perrottet’s office did not respond to questions.