Labor warned of risk before ex-staffer got Transport for NSW job

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Recruiters hired to find NSW’s new transport boss warned the man later handed the position was not adequately experienced.

Josh Murray’s appointment as transport secretary in July has become a thorn in the side of the Labor government as it defends the former corporate affairs boss as the right man to manage the state’s $178 billion travel network.

Murray, a chief of staff to former Labor premier Morris Iemma, who later spent 15 years at construction giant Laing O’Rourke, was shortlisted after the head of transport minister Jo Haylen’s office requested he be interviewed.

Documents tabled in parliament on Wednesday show a progress report by headhunting firm NGS Global listed Murray as “under review or not recommended to proceed”.

It described his experience as somewhat relevant but largely in corporate affairs or as a chief of staff and without the “level of operational complexity required” for a transport secretary.

Haylen’s chief of staff described the recruiter’s shortlist as “pretty underwhelming” and said, “Josh Murray should be interviewed as well”.

A more thorough NGS Global report viewed Murray as articulate, intelligent and with good insight into government operations.

“He has not, however, had large-scale strategic, operational or people leadership experience which would likely make his appointment to this role a significant risk,” the subsequent report said.

Further interviews whittled the shortlist down to Murray and another candidate, senior public servant Benedicte Colin, who each met with the transport minister on July 1.

Each was a highly capable leader but the Laing O’Rourke group director of people was “a better fit for the department and for me at this time and is therefore my preferred candidate”, Haylen told the official running the recruitment process.

That official, the premier’s acting department head Peter Duncan, later confirmed Murray’s appointment, which began on Monday.

Murray, a former radio broadcaster, spent seven years in the Carr and Iemma Labor governments before 15 years working his way up the corporate affairs ladder at Laing O’Rourke, including their London office.

Laing O’Rourke is a major provider of NSW transport projects, including parts of the Sydney Metro.

Its chief executive, Ray O’Rourke, said Murray was instrumental in helping guide the business and colleagues through the pandemic, helping the business emerge even stronger.

Haylen has weathered criticism of the appointment for weeks, which intensified after it emerged she met with Murray on April 4, before the incumbent transport secretary was sacked.

The minister reiterated on Wednesday the proper recruitment process was followed and resulted in a panel of senior public servants shortlisting Murray and Colin.

Murray had years of experience at the top of Laing O’Rourke, “coordinating a frontline workforce of 12,000 people across three continents,” the minister said.

But the opposition said the documents confirmed what it had been saying for weeks.

“Josh Murray is dangerously underqualified to be the secretary of Transport for NSW and … this a blatant ‘jobs for the boys’ appointment,” transport spokeswoman Natalie Ward said.

“How can the people of NSW have any confidence in his ability to run our Transport Department given the views expressed through the recruitment process?”

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