Ayres played role in shortlisting candidates for NY trade job, previously secret documents reveal

Under-fire Trade Minister Stuart Ayres recommended a shortlist of candidates for a controversial US trade role but maintains he had no influence on the process that eventually led to John Barilaro being appointed to the plum government job.

The latest revelations will deepen the crisis that has consumed the state government since Barilaro secured the $500,000-a-year trade commissioner job after the first successful candidate, senior bureaucrat Jenny West, was dumped from the position. The former deputy premier has since quit the role.

Trade Minister Stuart Ayres and Premier Dominic Perrottet in Mumbai on Thursday.Credit: AAP

Premier Dominic Perrottet was joined by Ayres during his trade mission in India on Thursday, while at home a cache of previously secret documents revealed the minister played a role in shortlisting and adding candidates for the New York job in February.

The revelations challenge Ayres’ claims that the trade roles were conducted at arm’s length from government, prompting anger among senior Liberals over the scandal that has derailed the government’s agenda for six weeks.

Papers released on Thursday include an email sent by Investment NSW boss Amy Brown to her colleagues on February 8 saying that she and Ayres had “run through the ‘long’ shortlist and our recommended ‘short’ shortlist for NYC”.

“He’d like to add [REDACTED] to the short shortlist please,” she wrote.

Ayres refused to confirm whose name was redacted in the shortlist document but said it was not Barilaro. He again insisted it was common for senior public servants to keep ministers updated.

“It is an independent process but the point I’m making is that members of the public service, particularly secretaries, will always update ministers through the course of the process,” Ayres said.

Facing a barrage of questions about his role in the appointment of Barilaro to the lucrative trade post, Ayres maintained that he had no involvement in the recruitment process.

“I have not under any circumstances influenced the decisions of Amy Brown in who she is selecting as senior executives of the public service,” Ayres said.

He said he had conversations with shortlisted candidates about the government’s policies but had no need to meet with Barilaro because he had first-hand knowledge.

“There is no reason for me to engage with John Barilaro about the objectives of the NSW government’s trade and investment policies because he has a clear and intimate understanding,” he said.

But Ayres’ statements came as the new tranche of documents revealed a briefing note – prepared for Brown in the lead-up to the announcement of Barilaro’s appointment in June – that said Ayres had in fact met with the former deputy premier.

“Mr Barilaro has now met with the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment, the Hon Stuart Ayres MP who has supported his appointment,” the document said.

Investment NSW has since issued a statement saying that line in the brief was a “clerical error”.

A separate document about Investment NSW’s issues for Ayres and Perrottet, dated April 28, said the agency was “awaiting Ministerial feedback on appointment of [senior trade and investment commissioner] Americas and Greater China”.

Opposition treasury spokesman Daniel Mookhey said Ayres had made “patently false” statements about his involvement in the recruitment process.

He said the documents released on Thursday showed it was not an independent recruiter determining applicants, rather it was “Ayres putting forward his preferred candidates for this job”.

Ayres described it as “preposterous” to suggest West had her job offer for the New York role rescinded to make way for Barilaro.

However, he could not outline why West was dumped and insisted he did not mislead parliament when he told the lower house that “there was no suitable candidate” found.

“I want to be very, very clear about this. The information that I provided the parliament is absolutely consistent with the information that has been provided by the CEO of Investment NSW.”

Ayres again backed Barilaro’s appointment and said it was a loss for NSW that the former trade minister withdrew from the role amid the controversy of his appointment.

“It has been disappointing for NSW,” he said, adding that he believed Barilaro was “a person who was selected on merit”.

Asked on Thursday if he still had confidence in his minister, Perrottet answered: “yes”.

Perrottet also defended Barilaro’s tenure as a cabinet minister, saying he was a “strong trade minister for the people of NSW ... particularly at a difficult time during COVID when he was also the deputy premier of NSW”.

Senior Liberals have continued to express their frustration over the scandal which has been a major distraction from the government’s agenda and its recent budget.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the issue freely, one senior Liberal said, “if the buck stops anywhere it’s with Stuart, and he’s trying to pass the buck to the public service”, adding “he’s burrowed in like a tick”.

Another senior government MP said they feared the situation was only going to get worse before it gets better.

“It’s terrible. This never should have happened in the first place, and Stuart Ayres is drowning, everyone knows he’s drowning,” they said.

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