Stuart Ayres claims he will resign if Barilaro inquiry finds he ‘did the wrong thing’

A key NSW minister asked Stuart Ayres to resign over the John Barilaro saga, as it’s revealed the trade minister texted the former deputy premier about the role while he was still an MP.

Trade Minister Stuart Ayres texted John Barilaro a job advertisement for a plum New York trade role while the former deputy premier was still employed as an MP.

Mr Ayres on Monday said he texted a job ad to Mr Barilaro on December 17 - the same day it appeared in the Australian Financial Review.

Mr Ayres said Mr Barilaro could apply for the role like anyone else as a “private citizen”.

However The Daily Telegraph can reveal Mr Barilaro was still employed as an MP at the time Mr Ayres sent him the ad and told him he could apply.

Mr Barilaro only quit parliament on December 31.

NSW Liberal Deputy Leader Stuart Ayres. Picture: Jeremy Piper

Mr Ayres said this morning only one person in his cabinet had asked him to step down and it was not Premier Dominic Perrottet.

The Daily Telgraph understands that Infrastructure and Cities Minister Rob Stokes was the cabinet colleague who texted Mr Ayres and told him to stand aside.

Mr Stokes contacted Mr Ayres last week while the trade minister was travelling overseas promoting trade and investment commissioners.
It comes as Mr Ayres revealed he will quit if an independent inquiry into the appointment of John Barilaro as NSW Trade Commission finds he “did the wrong thing”.

Mr Ayres acknowledged that his job was “absolutely” on the line but that he expected an independent review into his conduct to give him the all-clear.

He described a second Upper House Inquiry into the saga as “political”.

Former Deputy Premier John Barilaro. Picture: Gaye Gerard.

“The upper house inquiry is a political inquiry... there is no doubt our opponents want to be able to score points or damage us politically...that’s the way the committee has acted,” he told 2GB host Ben Fordham.

Mr Ayres said his position would not be “tenable” if the independent review finds he acted inappropriately.

Mr Ayres said if he had his time again he would counsel Mr Barilaro that the end of his political career and the start of the new role were too close together but the former Deputy Premier would still be free to apply if he wished.

“I would love to go back and say to (Mr Barilaro), ‘you probably shouldn’t do this’,” Mr Ayres said.

“I’m confident that I’ve always acted in the best interests in the public.”

He added that Mr Perrottet had been “really supportive” and has not asked him to stand down as the government continues to be embroiled in controversy.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal that a shortlist of candidates for the plum NSW government trade role was confirmed by Mr Ayres and Investment NSW chief executive Amy Brown the day after the pair finished a week-long official visit to London, emails released to parliament reveal.

NSW Liberal Deputy Leader Stuart Ayres is facing questions over his involvement in the appointment of John Barilaro to a plum New York based trade role. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

The revelations raise further questions about Mr Ayres’ involvement in the appointment of former Mr Barilaro to the $500,000-a-year New York trade role which has plunged the government into crisis, as Mr Barilaro was on that shortlist.

Previously secret documents released on Monday also revealed Mr Barilaro was only deemed the preferred candidate for the job after a selection panel report was changed to bolster the Deputy Premier’s credentials.

Mr Ayres yesterday said he had “discussion and engagement” with his department over the recruitment process, but maintained he did not influence the process.

He revealed he sent a job advertisement for the New York trade role to Mr Barilaro after the former Deputy Premier inquired about the application process, but insisted Mr Barilaro did not get any special treatment as a candidate.

During a cabinet meeting on Monday, The Daily Telegraph was told Mr Ayres sought to “deflect” from the scandal engulfing him by questioning other ministers about issues in their portfolios.

“He quizzed other ministers about their own portfolios more than ever while his own house was burning down around him,” one Minister said.

The embattled Minister faced difficult questions on Monday, but maintains he made no decision to put his former colleague on the shortlist. Picture: John Feder/The Daily Telegraph

Emails reveal Mr Ayres took a trip overseas with Investment NSW CEO Amy Brown the day before she announced the shortlist.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal that Mr Ayres and Ms Brown were two of three people in an official delegation that travelled to the UK from February 6 to 12 for a trip relating to hosting the Formula 1 grand prix in Sydney.

The next day, an Investment NSW executive emailed the company conducting the recruitment process to say that “Amy (Brown) and the Minister have confirmed the shortlist” for the New York Trade Commissioner role.

A previously released email from Ms Brown, sent during the UK tour on February 8, said Mr Ayres wanted to add a name to the “short shortlist”.

Mr Ayres last week said that person in question was not Mr Barilaro.

Mr Ayres maintained on Monday that he did not make any decisions about who should go on the shortlist for the New York trade role.

He maintained the selection process was entirely the responsibility of Ms Brown, but denied that he was hanging the public servant out to dry.

“I’m going to reject very clearly the suggestion of … throwing Amy Brown under the bus,” he said.

Mr Ayres insisted that he will not step down as Deputy Liberal Leader despite calls from some of his colleagues.

“There is no reason for me to stand aside,” he said.

Premier Dominic Perrottet yesterday pleaded with anxious ministers to be patient and await the findings of an independent review into the appointment, set to be released within days.

Pressure is mounting on Premier Dominic Perrottet to stand down Mr Ayres amid the developing saga. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

It came after freshly released documents revealed that a draft selection panel report had listed Mr Barilaro as the second-ranked candidate for the New York role, before a final version was issued boosting his credentials.

The selection panel report, prepared as part of a recruitment process for the New York Trade Commissioner job, initially deemed Mr Barilaro to be the second-ranked candidate.

However three months later, another selection panel report was issued which boosted Mr Barilaro’s rating for “Manage and Develop People”.

Former NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro was initially named the second-ranked candidate for the job, before Ms Brown stepped in. Picture: NCA NewsWire / James Gourley

After Mr Barilaro’s credentials were bolstered, he became the top ranked candidate.

Mr Ayres said the ratings were changed after Ms Brown told the independent recruitment firm responsible that the first report was inaccurate.

“I understood that she emailed them almost instantaneously, to inform them to say that she did not believe that was an accurate representation and asked for that to be adjusted,” Mr Ayres said.

The initial report noted that Mr Barilaro had not previously had an international role “aligned to the experience expected” of the Trade Commissioner job and that he would have a “considerable learning curve in the role”.

The later report declared: “While (Mr Barilaro) would have a learning curve on doing business in the US, he had a strong track record of building teams as well as operating in a dynamic environment and had deep understanding of the NSW Trade and Investment environment.”

Originally published as Stuart Ayres claims he will resign if Barilaro inquiry finds he ‘did the wrong thing’