NSW politics LIVE: Inquiry into John Barilaro’s US trade appointment hears from thwarted candidate

That concludes the evidence today at the NSW upper house inquiry into the circumstances in which former deputy premier John Barilaro was appointed to a $500,000-a-year-role as the state’s US-based trade commissioner.

Jenny West, the former NSW bureaucrat who was identified as the preferred candidate for the role last year, gave explosive evidence this morning that she received an offer for the job and was sent a congratulatory text by the Investment NSW chief executive Amy Brown on August 12 last year. Brown was in charge of the recruitment process.

West said her recruitment was halted last year after Brown told her that trade commissioner positions were to be changed from public sector appointments to political appointments.

West said Brown told her on October 14 last year that the US trade post “will be a present for someone”.

The evidence before the inquiry to date can be summarised in the following timeline. Please note that the statements made by the witnesses may be challenged by parties who have not yet had a chance to respond.

To date, two witnesses have given evidence: Investment NSW chief executive Amy Brown, and former Investment NSW deputy secretary Jenny West. Brown oversaw the recruitment process for the US trade commissioner role that was offered first to West in August last year before being given this year to deputy premier John Barilaro.

Barilaro has since relinquished the role but has insisted he followed proper process.

• August 12, 2021: Jenny West, then a deputy secretary at government agency Investment NSW, receives an offer for the position of the state’s senior trade and investment commissioner to the Americas, based in New York. Investment NSW chief executive Amy Brown, the decision-maker, congratulates West on getting the role in a text message that attaches a signed briefing note from then-premier Gladys Berejiklian. It includes emojis of the Statue of Liberty and a champagne bottle. Brown has described the offer as a verbal one, while West said she believed it was a formal offer and that the terms of her contract were finalised within two days.
• On or about September 6, 2021: A staffer in the office of then deputy premier and trade minister John Barilaro asks Brown about the mechanisms by which global trade commissioners could be appointed. Brown said the adviser “made it clear that the deputy premier wanted to know the various mechanisms for [sic] which [commissioners] can be appointed”. At this time, the recruitment process was run by Investment NSW and not by ministers.

The NSW upper house inquiry has heard Jenny West contacted the head of Department of Premier and Cabinet, Michael Coutts-Trotter, on October 11 last year after her expected appointment to the US trade role was scuppered on October 1.

She said she had concerns about the future of her existing role as a deputy secretary at government agency Investment NSW, and was not seeking to raise concerns about the trade post.

“I did want to stay in my current role,” West said.

West said she did not hear back but she subsequently heard through the media that Coutts-Trotter had referred the matter back to Investment NSW. She was notified in writing by Coutts-Trotter on November 19 that her existing role at Investment NSW would be terminated without cause.

As noted earlier today, the upper house inquiry has heard then-NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian signed a briefing note on August 12 last year noting that “a successful candidate ... has been identified” for the role of the state’s senior trade and investment commissioner to the Americas.

That candidate was Jenny West, then a deputy secretary at government agency Investment NSW.

But in September that year, West was told by Amy Brown, chief executive of Investment NSW, that the government was seeking to change the trade commissioner roles from public service appointments to political appointments. West was subsequently advised on October 1 that her offer was withdrawn.

Brown told the inquiry on June 29 that John Barilaro’s office had asked her on or about September 6 last year about “the various mechanisms for [sic] which [trade commissioners] can be appointed”. Barilaro was then the trade minister. At this time, the recruitment process was run by Investment NSW and not by ministers.

The NSW upper house committee inquiring into the circumstances in which former deputy premier John Barilaro was appointed to a lucrative New York trade post is taken to a file note taken by the previous candidate for the role.

The inquiry has heard this morning that Jenny West, a former deputy secretary at government agency Investment NSW, was the preferred candidate for the position and received a congratulatory text telling her that she had been approved for the role on August 12 last year.

West said she regarded this as a formal offer and the terms of her contract were negotiated within two days. Amy Brown, chief executive of Investment NSW, told the inquiry on June 29 that this was a verbal offer by her and not a formal offer, and she confirmed the offer was withdrawn on October 1 following a change in government policy.

Brown said the government had advised her that it wanted to change the appointment process for trade commissioner roles so that they were ministerial appointments by the government, rather than statutory appointments by the public service.

Jenny West, former deputy secretary at government agency Investment NSW, said she believed she received a formal offer last year to take up the position as the state’s senior trade and investment commissioner to the Americas. She was later told she did not have the job.

A NSW upper house committee is inquiring into the circumstances in which former deputy premier John Barilaro was appointed to the job in June this year. He has since relinquished the role but insists he followed proper process.

Amy Brown, chief executive of Investment NSW, led the recruitment process. She told the upper house inquiry on June 29 this year that West had not received a formal offer but did receive a verbal offer on August 12 last year.

But West told the inquiry today that she believed she did receive a formal offer.