The NSW senior bureaucrat who pushed for Stephen Cartwright's appointment to a London-based trade ambassador role says former deputy premier John Barilaro acted "inappropriately" by becoming involved in salary discussions.
Former Treasury secretary Michael Pratt told recruitment firm NGS Global to consider Mr Cartwright after a preferred candidate, Paul Webster, was already identified, NGS consultant Marianne Broadbent told a parliamentary inquiry in August.
The upper house inquiry stems from the messy appointment of Barilaro as senior trade and investment commissioner to the Americas in June, a role he resigned from within two weeks.
