Emotional Gladys falls on her sword
I love my job and the I love serving I community, but have been given no option
GLADYS Berejiklian made the bombshell announcement she will resign as NSW Premier, saying she had “no option” after a corruption watchdog said it is investigating her.
The shock announcement came after the Independent Commission Against Corruption confirmed on Friday its probe into Ms Berejiklian’s former secret boyfriend had widened to include her.
Ms Berejiklian said it went against “every instinct” in her being to resign.
“I love my job and I love serving the community, but I have been given no option,” she said.
She was largely stoic during the six-minute announcement, but her voice showed signs of emotion towards the end when she addressed the residents of the state to say “thank you”.
“I want thank you, the people of NSW – when the chips were down in the past few years, particularly during the drought, the bushfires and now Covid – we stood alongside each other,” she said.
“I hope you’ll now you’ll remain foremost in my thoughts.”
Her voice then momentarily broke when she told people it would be the final time she would address them as Premier.
“So as I address you for the final time as your Premier, please stay the course and stay safe. We will be shortly out of this lockdown and be able to get on with our lives,” she said.
She earlier said she regretted “not to be able to finish the job to ensure the people of NSW can transition to living with Covid”.
Ms Berejiklian will also resign from her role as MP for
Willoughby, which will trigger a by-election.
It wasn’t immediately clear who will take over as Premier. The Liberal Party was planning a meeting where MPs would have a vote on the matter.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet has long been seen as a favourite to succeed Ms Berejiklian.
The ICAC said in its announcement it will begin holding new public hearings from October 18.
The watchdog will investigate if she breached public trust in relation to her personal relationship with former MP Daryl Maguire.
ICAC said on Friday it would investigate whether Ms Berejiklian’s relationship with Mr Maguire created a conflict of interest that resulted in her breaching the public’s trust by awarding grants to a clay target association and a music conservatorium in Wagga Wagga.
It would also investigate whether the Premier breached the public trust by allegedly failing to report conduct by Mr Maguire that may have been corrupt.
The ICAC also said it would investigate whether she was “liable to allow or encourage the occurrence of corrupt conduct by Mr Maguire”.
The investigation will be a continuation of an ongoing probe into Mr Maguire‘s conduct as an MP.
It was during public hearings into that matter that it was revealed that Ms Berejiklian had been in a secret fiveyear relationship with Mr Maguire.
Ms Berejiklian has been an MP since 2003 and Premier since 2017. She is the third NSW Premier to resign as a result of an ICAC investigation since the corruption watchdog’s creation in 1988.