Now a series of emails and text message exchanges between Burden and some of Transport Minister Andrew Constance’s most senior mandarins including department secretary Rodd Staples has finally shed light on this most notable appointment. It took less than a fortnight after his departure from Berejiklian’s office for Burden’s details to reach Staples, who promptly had his office coordinator Fiona Gaffney organise a “catch up”. But only days before the scheduled confab on May 13, Staples’ office informed Burden that a number of “urgent meetings” had come into his diary. “Of course Fiona ... Perhaps shoot through a few dates that work,” BB wrote back. Unfortunately, he would have to wait until June 6. BB: “Is there nothing sooner at all?” There was not. But the wait was well worth it because, a few days after meeting at Transport for NSW’s Chippendale HQ, Staples was on the phone to his lieutenants.

“Further to separate conversations with each of you, attached is Brad Burden’s contact details. I suggest if possible you meet up together to see if there is anything Brad has to offer in either the broader stakeholder engagement piece or specifically in [infrastructure],” Staples wrote in a text to deputy secretary Peter Regan and general manager Matthew Vane-Tempest on June 11. “There is no pressure from me to engage Brad, but I thought after hearing his broader background and aspirations, there may be something there.” If you can’t get a job after that, err, reference … it’s time to join the dole queue! PENCIL PUSHING AT SPEED Doesn’t bureaucracy move fast when it’s at the instigation of the department secretary?

Burden, Regan and Vane-Tempest spoke on June 18, with the latter “preparing a few dot points to describe the role we spoke to Brad about” the very next day. Loading “Peter – I have no idea what BB would be seeking for an engagement like this,” the memo we obtained under freedom of information laws concluded. And less than one month later, Transport for NSW’s HR department had a position description – Director, Infrastructure Communications – ready to go. “While there are a number of people internally who could fill this role, there is insufficient capacity to conduct this review given the volume of infrastructure projects currently underway,” it reads.

While we don't doubt he's suitably qualified for their respective gigs, it isn't the best look. (And it’s not just jobs for the boys these days. Burden’s partner Holly Hearne was given a gig with an annual salary of more than $200,000 in the Premier’s own department last year. We don't doubt her skills either, but seriously?) A Transport for NSW spokesman said Staples “became aware of Mr Burden’s availability and referred this to the relevant Deputy Secretaries for their consideration”. “After giving consideration to Mr Burden’s experience, a decision was made to engage him on a limited term six-month contract that complied with the normal ... arrangements,” he said.

BAKED APPLE The city’s go-to lunch spots will no doubt be heaving by late this week, as corporate types tie up loose ends over a lobster thermidor before the end of the year. Of some note: Glass Brasserie’s high-profile chef Luke Mangan is overseas, on hand for a Sunday dinner at billionaire Richard Branson’s private Necker Island bolthole off the coast of BVI. By Wednesday he’ll be in New York and at Citizens of Bleecker, owned by expats Justin Giuffrida and Andrew Geisel, for a function put together by Consul-General Alastair Walton. RIGGED UP

The thick smoke blanketing the city on Tuesday didn’t just set off fire alarms and shutter ferry services. It also put the kibosh on the Cruising Yacht Club’s Big Boat Challenge, a final outing for Sydney to Hobart contenders before the race. Sydney's haze led to the Cruising Yacht Club cancelling its annual Big Boat Challenge. Credit:James Brickwood The Oatley family’s Wild Oats XI, which last year claimed its ninth line victory, was already forced to pull out of last month’s Cabbage Tree Island Race off the coast of Port Stephens after it was damaged in what observers on shore described as a “deck split”. Still, they were set to go on Tuesday alongside property rich-lister Peter Harburg on Black Jack – which took line honours at the Cabbage Tree Island race – before the bushfire haze descended. Comanche, Wild Oats’ fierce rival, was not due to race, having already missed Cabbage Tree Island because owner Jim Cooney was celebrating his son’s birthday at the family’s Neutral Bay pile (snapped up in 2004 from OzEmail founder Sean Howard for $13.5 million).