Sunday 3 July 2022 03:51 AM Jenny West will give evidence on July 11 at inquiry after losing $500k New York ... trends now
An experienced public servant who lost a high paying job to a politician has demanded she give her evidence on camera so she can properly detail her 'distress' about the scandal.
Jenny West was told she had secured a $500,000 trade ambassador role in New York last August, but the high-flying public servant saw the job ripped away weeks later, when retiring NSW deputy premier John Barilaro changed the selection process, which eventually allowed him to claim the position for himself.
The controversial appointment is now the subject of a state parliamentary inquiry that began on Wednesday, with Mr Barilaro two days later announcing he had withdrawn from the job because the saga was a 'distraction' for the government.
Ms West, who was deputy secretary of Investment NSW, has confirmed she will given evidence at the hearing on July 11.
The Westpac 'women of influence' winner lodged a request for an on-camera hearing to tell her side of the story in person due to the 'distress' the job loss has caused her 'and my family', The Daily Telegraph reported.
Jenny West (pictured), was 'extremely upset' when she learnt the plum trade ambassador role she had won through an interview process was to be taken off her due to a ministerial decision that eventually led to the job being given to former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro
In the written request, Ms West pointed to the 'short-term and long-term career implications' she has faced as a result of the debacle as a reason to provide her account over live video.
She also asked to appear in private, signalling her evidence - which includes a 45-page dossier she sent to Department of Premier and Cabinet secretary Michael Coutts-Trotter after losing the role - will likely be damning.
Ms West's evidence, which was initially scheduled for July 6, will be vital in determining the level of interference in the selection of the position and who was involved.
Speaking at the inquiry on Wednesday, Trade Department Secretary Amy Brown, who had to break the bad news to Ms West in September said 'she was not pleased about the backflip on the job, leading to an 'irreconcilable' situation.
'She was extremely upset about that, understandably so,' Ms Brown said.
John Barilaro last week announced he was stepping aside from the role as the saga was a 'distraction' for the government
In the days after her appointment was blocked, Ms West met with Mr Coutts-Trotter, NSW's top bureaucrat, to express her concerns about what happened, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Mr Coutts-Trotter, who is secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet, was given a 45-page report by Ms West outlining her concerns over what transpired.
Ms West has now left the public service with an undisclosed payout.
The New York Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner would have capped off a CV bristling with achievement for Ms West.
She entered the NSW public service after being head of trade and investment at federal agency Austrade, where she led digital innovation efforts.
Her private sector experience included four years as the NSW/ACT regional director for Telstra, where she was in charge of 130 retail stores and oversaw the NBN rollout.
In her seven years at Westpac, she headed the migrant and expatriate banking division, and was also general manager of the Sydney CBD operations.
In 2013, she won a Westpac 'Women of Influence' Award for business
