Brown issued a statement on Thursday night,saying that Barilaro had notified her of his decision to withdraw from the role,effective immediately.
"I request that his privacy be respected at this time,"Brown said.
A spokesperson for the Premier said a separate review of Barilaro’s appointment as US trade commissioner by former NSW Public Service Commissioner Graeme Head would continue.
Premier Dominic Perrottet has said it would have been inappropriate for the role to be considered by cabinet because it was not a ministerial appointment.
Revelations over the past week have detailed the ad-hoc nature of the recruitment process that resulted in Barilaro’s candidacy for the US role.
While the government has maintained all trade commissioner roles are decisions of the public service,independent of government,questions have been raised about the probity of the process.
The inquiry on Wednesday heard Barilaro was appointed in a second recruitment round,after Brown was directed to rescind an offer made to West because cabinet had agreed to make the roles ministerial picks.
Then-newly minted Trade Minister Stuart Ayres rejected that cabinet decision,made days before former premier Gladys Berejiklian resigned in October,and instead proposed that the process stayed with the public service.
TheHerald can confirm the subcommittee of cabinet,which includes senior ministers and Perrottet,endorsed his plan.
Ayres on Thursday stood by his decision to maintain a “hands-off process” in a bid to keep the roles at arm’s length from politicians.
The about-face highlights the imperfect nature of the appointment process for the overseas roles,which has been a distraction for the government trying to sell its final budget before the election.
“This is an invidious situation in many respects,” Ayres said. “We create a hands-off recruitment process where politicians don’t engage in the recruitment process,and[when] that process selects a former politician,it immediately creates questions.
“That’s a very difficult position for the public service to be in”.
Barilaro,who resigned as deputy premier on October 4,first sought information about the position in December before it was advertised.
Ayres said Barilaro sent him a text message indicating that he was interested in “the status of those roles. I informed him that they will be publicly advertised and he,like any other private citizen,will be able to apply for it.”
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Ayres insisted politicians played no role in the selection and recruiting process and defended having met candidates and received “standardised briefings” from Investment NSW about the recruitment.
He added:“I was always of the view and had some concerns that,if Mr Barilaro succeeded in this appointment,that it would create some political contention ... I’m hardly known as the flag bearer of the ‘John Barilaro fan club’,but he’s a private citizen.”
NSW Labor leader Chris Minns said evidence was mounting that there had been “a gross politicisation” of the trade commissioner appointment.
“Serious concerns remain about how he got the job and the parliamentary inquiry will continue to pursue those.”
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