Cost of Barilaro investigations revealed, as ICAC finds no evidence of corruption

NSW taxpayers have shelled out at least $300,000 for four separate investigations into John Barilaro’s appointment to a New York trade role, including an ICAC investigation that “did not identify any evidence of corrupt conduct”.

A statement from the Independent Commission Against Corruption late yesterday afternoon revealed it had been probing the appointment since July. 

“In July 2022, the commission decided to investigate whether, in relation to the recruitment of the senior trade and investment commissioner to the Americas, John Barilaro, Stuart Ayres, Amy Brown or any other public official breached public trust, or exercised their official functions dishonestly or partially,” it said. 

It added ICAC investigators had looked into whether the people involved had “adversely affected the honest or impartial exercise of official functions by any public official”.

Despite using its powers to compel documents, statements and “a number of” compulsory interviews with witnesses, it did not find any evidence of corruption. 

The seven-month ICAC probe was the fourth known investigation sparked by the NSW government’s decision to appoint Barilaro to head its new trade office in the US. 

Crikey can reveal the longest-running of these, an inquiry by the Parliament’s Public Accountability Committee that began in June last year, would have cost at least an estimated $204,000. That includes costs associated with 12 public hearings, which are usually priced at $7100 each.

That price tag includes costs for Hansard reporters and subeditors, estimated at $6000 a hearing, plus another $1100 for audiovisual services, according to a response last year to budget estimates by the clerk of the Legislative Council David Blunt.

There was also a hearing at the State Library of NSW, which would have cost about $8700, including about $2000 to rent the room. 

The total cost for the dozen hearings alone amounted to nearly $87,000.

On top of those costs, the inquiry had help from a team of public servants, including a director, a principal council officer, and an admin officer. The director costs $650 a day, and the admin officer $414, and both were working on six separate inquiries at the same time. 

The principal council officer worked on the Barilaro inquiry close to full time, meaning the daily cost of the three people would have been about $713. Over the 33 work weeks the inquiry spanned, the total cost for those people would have been about $117,000.

The probe found Barilaro’s appointment as the state’s US trade envoy had “all the trademarks of a ‘jobs for the boys’ position” and accused Ayres of misleading the public about the hire. Both have denied wrongdoing.

It has previously been revealed two independent reviews ordered by the NSW government into matters arising from the parliamentary probe cost taxpayers more than $100,000.

A legal review by Bruce McClintock that found Ayres had not broken the ministerial code of conduct cost $28,558, and another review by former public service commissioner Graeme Head, which found the hiring had not been done at arms-length from government, cost $80,850. 

The cost of the ICAC probe is impossible to calculate, former counsel assisting Geoffrey Watson told Crikey. “There’s no dollar figure you could ever put on that,” he said. “Most of ICAC’s work is terminated very quickly, while some investigations no doubt cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

ICAC declined to comment. Public Accountability Committee chair Cate Faehrmann was contacted for comment.

Were they worth the money to taxpayers? Let us know by writing to letters@crikey.com.au. Please include your full name to be considered for publication. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.