Perrottet is adamant the Barilaro appointment had nothing to do with him and has consistently pointed to the public service as the decision maker. Clearly oblivious to the so-called pub test,he has failed to see any “substantive issue” with the whole sorry affair.
Perhaps that will now change. On the very day that the scandal took a new turn,and it emerged that a former senior government stafferclaimed that Barilaro told him he would create the New York role for his post-political life,Perrottet is leaving Sydney on a trade mission.
To make matters worse,Perrottet also has the added drama of former Liberal ministerJohn Sidoti being found by the anti-corruption commission to have engaged in serious corrupt conduct.
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The trade mission should be a good-news story for the premier. Instead,Perrottet’s first overseas trip as leader will likely be dominated by the brewing disaster in his government over a trade appointment,as well as a corrupt MP.
Perrottet flew to Tokyo yesterday evening,with Seoul and Mumbai also on his itinerary. The idea was to showcase why trade commissioners are so important for NSW. That will be a hard sell.
In the shadow of the extremely popular former leader Gladys Berejiklian,Perrottet’s leadership started off rocky. His first big challenge was the state’s COVID-19 Omicron wave.