Jenny West was John Barilaro’s victim and her betrayal should be heeded

We don’t often get to hear from the victims of political expediency, but this week we did, in spades, from a former senior bureaucrat who was done over and left for dead as John Barilaro pursued what he considered his: a fabulous, $500,000-a-year gig in New York, paid by the taxpayer.

This particular example played out in NSW. But the story of Jenny West, who was barrelled aside to sate the desires of the former NSW deputy premier, is the story of anyone — public servant or otherwise — who ever believed in a fair process only for that belief to be shattered by the degraded behaviour of the political class.

We witnessed it by the bucket load under the previous Coalition government, which turned the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) into a frat house for Liberal Party cronies all supported on the public dime.