Following the release of an interim report slamming the process that led to John Barilaro’s appointment to a prestigious trade commissioner role, a leading ethicist said the findings show a clear integrity problem within the NSW government.
“It’s absolutely part of the obligations of public service to put [ethical] concerns on the table,” said Dr Leslie Cannold, head of programs at Cranlana Centre for Ethical Leadership.
“But ultimately the decision-makers are not the public servants; the decision-makers are the politicians.
“This is not a game. This is our government, the integrity of our government and the integrity of our system of government.”
The NSW upper house committee found alarming issues surrounding the transparency and impartiality of senior public sector appointments in NSW. It also described former deputy premier Barilaro’s appointment to senior trade and investment commissioner (STIC) Americas as flawed and unacceptable.
“This inquiry has raised serious questions about the level of influence that ministers exerted on senior public servants such as secretaries and heads of executive agencies over what should be independent recruitment decisions,” the report stated.
The committee agreed with the decision to dismiss NSW Department of Enterprise, Innovation and Trade secretary Amy Brown and Stuart Ayres’ decision to resign as deputy Liberal leader and trade minister. Since Brown’s dismissal, Elizabeth Mildwater has taken over the secretary role at the department.
Ayres was “not at arm’s length” during the appointment process, the committee found.
Committee chair and Greens MP Cate Faehrmann said the many “intersection points” between Brown and Ayres were “highly inappropriate and unacceptable”.
The inquiry uncovered an overall lack of transparency and integrity in the way the recruitment process was conducted. Even though senior public servants and ministers claimed the process had been fair and merit based.
— Cate Faehrmann 🌏🐨 (@greencate) February 6, 2023
Barilaro’s decision, when he was trade minister, to change the appointment process from a public sector appointment to a ministerial appointment (which never eventuated) was harshly criticised.
It was “brought without a reasonable basis and was pursued with unnecessary haste”.
Further, the report found Barilaro’s decision led to a failure to disclose the department’s former deputy secretary Jenny West’s selection for the position, internal confusion within Investment NSW about the appointment process, and the STIC Americas role becoming vacant which Barilaro then applied for when he left politics.
While other STIC roles (including UK agent general and STIC Greater China) are still in operation, the status of the STIC Americas position is on hold due to the inquiry.
In dissent, committee members Nationals MP Wes Fang and Liberal MPs Scott Farlow and Peter Poulos denied it was a “jobs for the boys” appointment.
“This report is nothing short of a politically motivated hit job in the lead-up to an election,” they wrote in a joint statement.
“Everything contained within this report should be seen through that lens.”
Cannold said Coalition dissent was a partisan “obfuscation of truth”.
“What you should be able to expect in a healthy democracy is for partisanship to take a backseat to proper process,” Cannold said.
“Proper process is the building block to a functioning and healthy democracy. Anyone who thinks Australian democracy is impervious to falling over should just have a quick look at what’s going on in the United States.”
There has been an increased focus on the politicisation of public sector appointments over recent years.
At a federal level, public service minister Katy Gallagher recently appointed former APS commissioner Lynelle Briggs to review the “jobs for mates” culture for public sector appointments.
Grattan Institute last year reported on the politicisation of government appointments, finding political appointments were “widespread” at both the state and federal level.
When the AAT was abolished last year, an organisation criticised for the political appointments within it, Grattan Institute’s Kate Griffiths told The Mandarin government should be scrutinising all public sector appointments.
“The first place to start is with the most powerful and most prestigious appointments,” the deputy program director, budgets and government said in December last year.
“They’re typically the best paid, and they have the greatest potential to influence public policy and public decisions.”
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STIC Americas role would be a ‘present’, said Investment NSW CEO
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