John Barilaro Officially Withdraws From Plush NYC Trade Commissioner Gig
“It is clear that my taking up this role is now not tenable with the amount of media attention this appointment has gained"
After weeks of scrutiny, ex NSW National Party leader John Barilaro has officially resigned from the controversial role of New York City Trade Ambassador.
In a scandal that has dragged on for weeks, Barilaro announced that he would officially be withdrawing from the plush overseas role, after speculation claiming that the ex-minister had unfairly influenced the recruitment process and the creation of the job himself. Barilaro maintains he followed the correct process.
Back in May, Barilaro was officially offered a $500,000 per annum trade role based in New York City. Shortly after this announcement, it was discovered that another applicant had already accepted the position after being offered it last year.
The Guardian reported that businesswoman Jenny West was verbally offered the job last August, and was even congratulated via text by the head of Investment New South Wales, Amy Brown at that time. However, Brown told ministers at an official government inquiry that she was ordered to “wind back” the job offer in instructions issued by the office of the Deputy Premier, a role held by John Barilaro at the time.
On the first of October, West’s job offer was officially rescinded, only for Barilaro to announce his resignation from politics just days later. The second round of recruitment followed, with Barilaro ultimately beating twelve other candidates to emerge as the front runner for the job.
The matter was further complicated after it was revealed that Barilaro played a part in creating the job he would eventually accept. In his capacity as trade minister, Barilaro announced in 2020 that the government was spending $112.4m to create six new trade ambassador positions, including the role in New York he would ultimately apply for.
After outrage from both sides of politics, including comments from NSW Transport Minister David Elliot who told Barilaro to “do the honourable thing” this week, Barilaro officially withdrew from the position on Thursday afternoon citing the “media noise” his appointment had created.
“It is clear that my taking up this role is now not tenable with the amount of media attention this appointment has gained,” Barilaro said in a statement. “I believe my appointment will continue to be a distraction and not allow this important role to achieve what it was designed to do, and thus my decision.
“I have always maintained that I followed the process and look forward to the results of the review.”
An official review of Barilaro’s appointment is ongoing, with Investment NSW Head Emily Brown calling for privacy while investigations continue.
“Investment NSW is assisting the Department of Premier and Cabinet and NSW Legislative Council Inquiry in reviews of the Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner Americas recruitment process, and as such it is not appropriate to make any further comment,” Brown said in a statement.