Months after she was appointed chief executive of the City of Parramatta Council, Gail Connolly assisted a friend by reviewing her resume, sending her interview questions in advance via a “Pink Lady” and sitting on the interview panel, the corruption watchdog has heard. The friend was then hired as a senior executive.
Text messages between Connolly and high-ranking staffers Angela Jones-Blayney and Roxanne Thornton, who were all part of a group chat known as the Pink Ladies, were aired at the Independent Commission Against Corruption on Friday.
It included a message sent by Connolly to the duo in July 2023 that read: “Hopefully by the end of next week I will have two pink ladies about to come on board at Parra!” The text was sent before Jones-Blayney had interviewed for a role at City of Parramatta.
Under Operation Navarra, the ICAC is investigating the trio over a series of allegations, including that they intentionally subverted recruitment and promotion processes within the council to benefit friends and associates.
On her second day as a witness, Jones-Blayney said she asked Thornton and “probably” Connolly to review her resume and cover letter before she applied for the role of executive director of city engagement and experience at City of Parramatta.
The ICAC heard that Thornton provided Jones-Blayney with handwritten notes on her cover letter in June 2023. On one of the pages, she wrote in red ink “Gail’s notes”, which Jones-Blayney said she understood was advice written by Thornton on behalf of Connolly. At the bottom of the document, the note read: “not Granny Smith stuff”.
“Do you know what she meant by not Granny Smith stuff? Was Granny Smith a particular event that the Ryde Council holds?” counsel assisting Joanna Davidson, SC, asked.
“Correct,” Jones-Blayney said.
Jones-Blayney previously appeared as Granny Smith during an annual Granny Smith festival in Eastwood.
The inquiry heard that Thornton had sent Jones-Blayney a text that said “shhhhh” in July 2023. Attached to the message were the interview questions for the role, which featured notes written by Connolly. Jones-Blayney later sent back: “love you longtime!” She said the message was not in response to Thornton sending her the questions and that she was shocked to have received them.
Davidson asked Jones-Blayney why the messages sent to her appeared in Thornton’s phone, but not her own.
“Because I deleted them,” she said.
“All right. Why did you delete them?” Davidson said.
“Because I wanted to go in with a clear hand, and I did not want them to interfere with my thought process.” Jones-Blayney said she could not recall when she deleted them.
The inquiry was told that Connolly had sat on Jones-Blayney’s interview panel and had called her after the interview to reassure Jones-Blayney that she was the preferred candidate for the role. She said she told Connolly during the phone call that Thornton had sent her the interview questions in advance. When chief commissioner John Hatzistergos asked how Connolly reacted, Jones-Blayney said: “I don’t know if I did get a reaction.“
Davidson put it to Jones-Blayney that Thornton, who was not working at the council at the time, must have received the interview questions from Connolly. “I presume so, yes,” Jones-Blayney said.
Texts between Jones-Blayney and Thornton were shown to the inquiry, which included a message from Thornton where she tells Jones-Blayney: “remember, Gail said for you to ask for an additional 10k”. Jones-Blayney said she did not recall the discussion.
Texts from March 2024 between Jones-Blayney and Thornton, who was preparing to apply for the role of office of the lord mayor and chief executive at the time, were then shown. The messages revealed Thornton had also been supplied with the interview questions for the role in advance, the inquiry heard.
“You will smash this,” Jones-Blayney sent in response.
The ICAC also heard that Jones-Blayney’s former Ryde Council colleague and fellow Pink Lady Michelle Carter played a significant role in writing the position description for a new role at City of Parramatta, to which she was then directly appointed. Carter provided evidence on Wednesday.
Jones-Blayney will return to the inquiry on Monday.
Ellie Busby is a Parramatta reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.