A senior advisor to John Barilaro says he was asked by the former NSW deputy premier to work towards changing a controversial US trade role into a ministerial appointment.
Mr Barilaro was later appointed to the $500,000-a-year New York position, which is now the subject of a NSW parliamentary inquiry.
The former Nationals leader stood down from the posting last month following a backlash over the appointment.
Joseph Brayford, a senior policy adviser in Mr Barilaro's office from 2019 to 2021, gave evidence in private to the upper house inquiry on Tuesday.
Mr Brayford told the inquiry he received a text from Mr Barilaro late last year about the plum trade role, according to a transcript published on Thursday.
He said the then deputy premier asked him to contact Investment NSW head Amy Brown and "request a cabinet submission converting the commissioner roles to ministerial appointments".
"Nothing really surprised me with John," Mr Brayford told the committee.
He added Mr Barilaro then told him he also wanted the London and Tokyo trade roles to be changed to ministerial appointments.
Mr Brayford described the former deputy premier as an "interesting character" and said he had never "worked with someone so keen and so ambitious".
The inquiry was previously told the New York role was verbally offered to senior Investment NSW official Jenny West, however the offer was rescinded after a cabinet decision to make it and the other trade postings ministerial appointments.
The inquiry heard evidence from Mr Barilaro's former chief-of-staff Mark Connell that his former boss eyed the lucrative New York trade job more than three years ago and planned to take up the role when he left politics.
Mr Connell said Mr Barilaro told him in April 2019 the government planned to bring back a number of overseas trade postings, and he was "off to New York".
Mr Barilaro disputed his former chief-of-staff's account, describing the conversation as "fictitious, false".
He criticised the inquiry for failing to immediately call him to comment on the allegations, saying the drip-feed of information to the public went against procedural fairness.
A separate Department of Premier and Cabinet review, initiated by Mr Perrottet last month, is also looking at the propriety of Mr Barilaro's appointment.
