NSW premier, exMP in ‘relationship’: corruption probe
SYDNEY: New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian had a ‘‘close personal relationship’’ with exgovernment MP Daryl Maguire and the pair continued to communicate until less than a month ago, a state anticorruption inquiry has heard.
Ms Berejiklian also admitted Mr Maguire had told her about some of his business interests and she presumed the exWagga Wagga MP had appropriately disclosed them.
The premier yesterday appeared by audiovisual link before the Independent Commission Against Corruption which is investigating Mr Maguire. He is accused of using his public office and parliamentary resources to improperly gain a benefit for himself or for G8way International, a company Mr Maguire allegedly ‘‘effectively controlled’’. He was forced to quit Ms Berejiklian’s government in 2018 after a separate ICAC inquiry heard evidence he sought payments to help broker deals for property developers.
Ms Berejiklian was dragged into the saga last week when the ICAC heard Mr Maguire gave a western Sydney landowner — Louise Waterhouse — Ms Berejiklian’s email address to help her lobby for rezoning changes that would benefit a parcel of land she held. ICAC heard Mr Maguire passed on the email address. — AAP