John Barilaro's plan to "get the f..k out of this place" revealed

An inquiry into how he even got the gig continues.

An inquiry into how he even got the gig continues.

The New York trade commissioner job was John Barilaro's chance to "get the f..k out of this place", according to new evidence.

The explosive allegations were made by Mark Connell, who was the former Nationals leader and deputy premier's chief of staff from April 2017 to December 2019,

Connell outlined a conversation he had with his former boss at the ongoing NSW parliamentary inquiry into the appointment of Barilaro to the plum, $500,000 a year job on Wednesday.

Connell alleged the chat happened after a meeting between Barilaro, then-treasurer (now Premier) Dominic Perrottet and then-investment minister Stuart Ayres in April 2019, with his boss coming directly to his office afterwards.

“He said, ‘I’ve just come from a meeting with Dom and Stuart regarding trade and we’re going to bring back the Agent General in London as well as a bunch of other postings around the world’,” Connell said in his submission.

“He then stated, ‘This is it; this is the job for when I get the f..k out of this place’.”

In response, Connell said the Agent General position in London was likely to be filled by the time Barilaro retired from NSW politics. 

Barilaro then reportedly said: “I don’t want to go to London, f..k that, I’m off to New York.”

The former MP has refuted Connell's claims.

"I completely refute the statement by Mr Connell (former chief of staff). The conversation he has recalled is fictitious, false and only serves as a reminder as to why we had to part ways," Barilaro said.

The Premier released a statement late Wednesday also distancing himself and his government from Connell's testimony.

"The former Deputy Premier, Minister Ayres and I had numerous discussions in 2019 in relation to the establishment of Global 2019 and at no point in any of those discussions was it ever raised that the former Deputy Premier may want to hold a position as a trade commissioner," Perrottet said. 

To recap

Former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro was appointed then withdrawn from taking the high profile role as the state's trade commissioner to the Americas after his appointment ignited a media storm, inviting accusations of being a case of "jobs for the boys". 

Barilaro's appointment to the position, which is based in New York and comes with a $500,000 annual salary package, was confirmed in June.

Back then he released a statement saying his selection for the job had become a distraction for the Perrottet government, which is hoping to be re-elected at the state election in March next year. 

"It is clear that my taking up this role is now not tenable with the amount of media attention this appointment has gained," Barilaro said.

"I believe my appointment will continue to be a distraction and not allow this important role to achieve what it was designed to do, and thus my decision.

"I stress that I have always maintained that I followed the process and look forward to the results of the review."

The decision of Barilaro to withdraw from the appointment, which he was due to take up on July 12, came hours after NSW Transport Minister David Elliott broke ranks with other members of the NSW cabinet by openly declaring the appointment should not go ahead.

Speaking on Sky News, Elliott said it was his "very, very strong view" that Barilaro should not be going to New York in the role of senior trade commissioner. Elliott said the appointment had become an unnecessary distraction for the Perrottet government as it tried to promote last week's big-spending budget.

The recruitment process has been the subject of intense media scrutiny, as well as two separate inquiries.

John Barilaro and NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet.

Barilaro was due to be paid a total salary package of almost $500,000 a year, but the circumstances in which he landed the gig have been called into question, and so, the NSW government’s public accountability committee is investigating.

The Public Accountability Committee is holding hearings to determine:

1. The circumstances leading up to the appointment
2. The process undertaken to make the appointment
3. The integrity measures undertaken as part of the appointment.

So far, the inquiry has discovered the original person selected for the role, Jenny West, had been told she had the job… before the hiring officers retracted the offer.

She gave evidence last week confirming she was notified of her appointment and how it was rescinded.

Earlier in the hearing, Investment NSW CEO Amy Brown, who was hiring for the role, said: “She was verbally offered the role and then I was given a direction by government to cease the recruitment due to a change in government policy,

“It was a decision of government, it would have come through the responsible minister being the minister for industry and trade, [that was] Mr John Barilaro.”

Brown insisted it “wasn’t Mr Barilaro’s decision” it was “a decision of government”.

A request was made by Barilaro's office on October 3 last year to move the trade commissioner positions from an in-house decision for Investment NSW to one requiring the approval of senior government ministers.

That meant Investment NSW were obliged to go back on existing offers.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos, OCTOBER 04 2021: Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW, Industry and Trade John Barilaro will hold a press conference in Sydney. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

The following day, October 4, Barilaro announced his retirement as an MP and it wasn't until earlier this month that the NSW government announced the former deputy premier would be heading to the states to take on the role. 

A press release at the time said he had got the job following a global talent search by a recruitment firm.

Brown told the inquiry she had decided Barilaro was the preferred candidate in April.

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The inquiry continues.