The documents show Murray was initially classified as “under review or not recommended” by the recruitment firm,but that Haylen’s office intervened to have him interviewed.
However,despite that,the following day,Haylen’s chief of staff,Scott Gartrell,intervened to request that Murray be interviewed,saying the list of candidates was “underwhelming”.
“The short list below is pretty underwhelming! ... Josh Murray should be interviewed as well,” he wrote.
A month after the initial report and following Gartrell’s intervention,NGS Global was more complimentary,saying in a follow-up report that Murray was a “competent” executive who would be “very suitable” for the role. However,it continued to warn that hiring him would be a “significant risk” because of a lack of experience.
While he had made difficult decisions at the onset of the pandemic that enabled Laing O’Rourke to “restart more quickly than competitors”,he lacked experience for the job,the recruitment firm found.
“Josh has informed insights into how government works,from the perspective of both a Chief of Staff and a provider of services to government. 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,” NGS Global said.
Following the recruitment drive,the government set up a three-person panel to interview candidates for the job,comprising federal infrastructure department head Jim Betts,Department of Premier Secretary Peter Duncan and NSW Public Service Commissioner Kathrina Lo.
The panel found Murray would be “very suitable” for the role,but Colin,the former Transport Asset Holding Entity (TAHE) chief executive,would be “highly suitable”.
In a statement following the release of the documents,Haylen continued to defend Murray’s appointment,saying he had “years of experience at the top of Laing O’Rourke,coordinating a frontline workforce of 12,000 people across three continents”.
Haylen said the three-person panel,after its interviews,said she should meet Murray and Colin. She met both,but has refused to say whether the panel had recommended Murray as the preferred candidate.
Last week,theHerald reported that Colin,a highly regarded senior bureaucrat,quit the public service after she missed out on the job.
After two years as the head of TAHE,Colin quit in July after applying for the secretary role. However,she insisted her departure was not related to Murray’s appointment.
“In July 2023,I resigned from my role as CEO for TAHE. It is time for new leadership to take the incredible people in this organisation forward on the next steps of its journey,” Colin told theHerald.
“My reasons for leaving TAHE are unrelated to the recruitment process or the appointment of the new secretary.”
TheHerald has requested a response from Murray.
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