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New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian admitted she has a relationship with former Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire, who is under ICAC investigation
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said during a corruption probe that she had a « close personal relationship » with Daryl Maguire
The Prime Minister testified during an investigation by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) to find out whether former Wagga Wagga MP, Mr. Maguire, had used his position for personal gain
Ms Berejiklian told the inquest that she had a close personal relationship with Mr. Maguire from the time of the 2015 national elections until a few months ago
« When I was asked to support this investigation, it occurred to me that I should no longer have any contact and I ceased all contact, » Ms Berejiklian told the investigation
Ms Berejiklian said their relationship was not generally known to MPs and they sought to keep her private in part because she may have been embarrassing
« More substantially, I am a very private person and I didn’t think the relationship had enough substance to be made public, » Ms. Berejiklian said
She said that if M Maguire had resigned from Parliament, she might have considered going public
Ms. Berejiklian told the inquest that she was aware that Mr. Maguire had business interests, but assumed he disclosed them in due time
The investigation received emails dating back to 2014 in which Mr. Maguire told Ms Berejiklian that he was entitled to a commission or other payment in connection with a real estate sale or development
« May I say that I will never condone any responsibility I have had to disclose any wrongdoing I have seen or any activity which in my opinion was not consistent with what ‘a deputy should do « , Ms. Berejiklian said today
Commission counsel Scott Robertson suggested that Ms Berejiklian encourage Mr. Maguire not to give him details on the issues in which he was involved
« I would say I wasn’t interested or thought what he was talking about with me was fancy, he was a big talker, » Ms. Berejiklian said
The investigation learned that the prime minister tried to compartmentalize his relationship with Mr. Maguire to separate her from her public functions
Ms. Berejiklian acknowledged that Mr. Maguire had told her about the extent of her debts, but dismissed any suggestion that she cared about her finances or that she benefited from her better financial situation.
« I am an independent woman who takes pride in her independence and someone else’s finances would be completely indifferent to me, » she said
Ms. Berejiklian stated that Mr. Maguire was obsessed with his financial situation and that he had spoken of trying to put himself in a position that would allow him to step out of Parliament
Several phone calls were also made to the investigation between the Prime Minister and Mr. Maguire, including a conversation in which M Maguire told Ms Berejiklian he wanted to visit China on an official trade mission to help resolve issues for a company operating in the country. Riverina
Ms. Berejiklian stated that she understood that Mr. Maguire was interested because he worried about possible job losses in the Riverina, even though the company, United World Enterprises, was based outside his electorate.
During a telephone conversation, Ms Berejiklian told M Maguire: « They seem to think it’s in your electorate, I didn’t say anything »
M Robertson suggested that she made the comment jokingly and knew that Mr. Maguire was pushing the limits by getting involved in something that was not part of his electorate
« My best memory about it would be: ‘You better tell them what this is because I’m not going to interfere with it »
« In any event, the result was that my office said it couldn’t go and that was the right result that got because I let the normal process take place «
During the investigation heard last week, Mr. Maguire gave the Prime Minister’s private email address to West Sydney landowner Louise Waterhouse to help push for changes
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Gladys Berejiklian, Independent Commission Against Corruption, Daryl Maguire, Liberal Party of Australia (New South Wales Division), Prime Minister, New South Wales
World News – AU – NSW Premier Reveals’ Close personal relationship with ex-MP at center of corruption probe
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com