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The government has already agreed to release additional documents from the NSW Treasury.
Labour’s deputy leader in the upper house, John Graham, wrote to Tudehope on Wednesday with an ultimatum, saying the opposition would cancel Friday’s session, in which government members would be forced to face the weather of questions while Perrottet and Ayres remain abroad, if the claim of secrecy is lifted. and expedited document delivery.
“The public has a right to see these documents. The public accountability committee should also be able to use them in public hearings,” he later said in a statement. “We intend to continue the constructive discussions we have had with the government on this matter.”
Pressure has intensified on Ayres and Perrottet after documents handed to the upper house this week revealed that both offices received letters identifying West as the successful applicant for the New York post last year.
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Both told parliament last month that the first recruitment process had failed to produce a suitable candidate, leading Labor to accuse them of misleading parliament.
Ayres is under special scrutiny after documents revealed he signed his approval in writing saying West was the successful candidate, chosen “after a thorough recruitment process”.
The trade minister defended his testimony on Tuesday and said the letter did not represent the end of the procurement process, while Perrottet said neither he nor his chief of staff had any recollection of a briefing note on the appointment of West which had been sent to his office.
Mr Ayres’ office did not respond to questions on Wednesday about whether he would appear before the parliamentary inquiry, but he has previously criticized the NSW upper house inquiry as “totally influenced by politics”.
Friday’s unusual withdrawal from the upper house is an attempt by Labor to advance the public inquiry into Barilaro’s appointment, which it says cannot proceed without the production of more documents.
The investigation so far has been damaging to the government, hearing that it instructed a senior bureaucrat to rescind a verbal offer to West, and that West was told the New York role would be “a gift to someone” .
Barilaro was appointed to the post last month, but has since resigned, admitting his appointment was a “distraction” and unsustainable.
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