Taxpayers will pay nearly $500,000 (US$334,275) to a senior bureaucrat who has been sacked after appointing former deputy premier John Barilaro to a lucrative overseas trade job.
Departmental secretary and former Investment New South Wales (NSW) boss Amy Brown was found to have been indirectly influenced to preference Barilaro for the job despite a range of other well-credentialed candidates.
The scandal has already cost former-trade minister Stuart Ayres his job after questions were raised about his involvement in the appointment.
With  Brown out of the way, Labor leader Chris Minns warned the premier against allowing Ayres to return.
He said Ayres had obviously been involved in Barilaro’s appointment, and reinstating him would send the wrong message….