Serious question: can we trust politicians to make any decisions properly?

At the heart of the Barilaro scandal is a fundamental democratic issue: should politicians, or ‘independent’ experts, make decisions about public resources?

It drives the whole scandal — the decision to change the trade commissioner role from a public service appointment to a political appointment; Amy Brown’s complaint that she was left in a limbo between the two; Stuart Ayres’ insistence that the selection of Barilaro was at “arm’s-length” from him when he repeatedly intervened, including in the elimination of a rival candidate to Barilaro after a 12-minute Zoom meeting with him; Barilaro’s professed belief that the role being a public service appointment was sufficient “cover” (his word) for it to be OK.