Affairs, hook-ups and dummy spits: Ministerial driver’s shocking tell-all

A long-serving former ministerial driver has revealed what really goes on behind the wheel when chauffeuring NSW ministers — from drunken nights to keeping affairs secret.

A long-serving former ministerial driver spilt the beans on what really goes on behind the wheel when chauffeuring NSW ministers — and it sure ain’t pretty.

While ministerial drivers are notoriously discrete, one ex-staffer has chosen to give the public a taste of how pollies really behave when the cameras are not rolling in aid of his former colleagues who are fighting the State government over changes to conditions.

There was the now retired minister who got so drunk he rolled out of a boozy function, opened the car door before peeing in the side door pocket while declaring he would be “back in 30 minutes” as he had to return say his goodbyes.

And the former premier who was driven to Bathurst hotel after an event only to call the driver at 2.30am demanding to be driven back to his Sydney home because “a loud drip” was keeping him awake.

There was also the notoriously forgetful minister who had his driver return to his coastal out-of-Sydney home after being driven to parliament as he had forgotten his tie that he needed for a function that night. And then back again to pick up his wife.

While everyone was blindsided when details of Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s secret affair with disgraced ex-MP Daryl Maguire were made public, not so the ministerial drivers who nodded their heads knowingly.

The Premier, who has her own two assigned drivers, had been seen hopping into Maguire’s private vehicle before the secret relationship was unveiled in the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption, our source alleged.

Former MP Daryl Maguire’s affair with Gladys Berejiklian was not secret from parliamentary drivers. Picture: Brett Costello

That’s not the only “close, personal relationship” that has occurred in Macquarie St — at least two other ministers instructed their assigned drivers to drop them off at a city apartment complex before picking them up for Parliament House the next day. Late night briefings, perhaps?

Then there is the partying minister who is driven to multiple venues on any given night, before requesting to be driven to a family property three hours away most Friday nights — and making the driver make his or her own way home after insisting on keeping
the car.

The minister is not alone in ditching the driver. Another was forced to hitchhike part of the way home after the senior pollie he had driven to a new country town and decided to keep the car.

The driver even asked the police if he could stay overnight at the station before making his own way home, a journey that took almost two days.

Not all ministers were poorly behaved, he said.

“Some of them are the most wonderful people, making sure you have a pillow under your head and a plate of food.

“But others, others couldn’t care less. It is a very demanding job. The drivers earn a fair dollar for what they do.”

The Department of Premier and Cabinet has issued 18 redundancies for the drivers as part of a wider restructure, which the Public Service Association claims will result in 77 job losses.

Union general secretary Steward Little said the drivers were worried the changes would leave them worse off.

“It’s making an Uber for pollies — drivers will be left with worse conditions, under resourced and pulling longer hours to keep up with the workload,” he said.

“Last I checked there weren’t any fewer politicians, so to halve the drivers workforce with a
phony redundancy saddles the remaining team with an enormous workforce,” he said.

BITTER BREW 

Rebel MP Matthew Mason-Cox cut a lonely figure in the Stranger’s Restaurant in Parliament House on Thursday where he was seen buying himself what looked like a much-needed coffee after his dramatic expulsion from the NSW Liberal Party last week.

Cox drew the wrath of Premier Gladys Berejiklian after nominating — and winning — the NSW Upper House presidency despite his Liberal colleague Natasha Mclaren-Jones having been put forward for the job.

MP Matthew Mason Cox. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gaye Gerard

Of the expulsion, the Premier said Mason-Cox had failed to stick to “party discipline and party rules”.

One of Mason-Cox’s former Liberal angered colleagues claimed most ministers grabbed their coffees from the cafe on Level 6 in Parliament House.

“He gets his coffee in Stranger’s now so he doesn’t have to face us,” he said.

RADIO SILENCE

While many regional media outlets are scrambling for advertising dollars, one radio station has turned away a potential client.

Radio station 2BS, which broadcasts to the NSW Central Tablelands, was recently approached by the Health Services Union (HSU) to air an aged care advertisement, attacking local Nationals MP Andrew Gee over his government’s failure to fix the system.

The tailor-made advertisement was among a series the union had rolled out to marginal seats as part of its aged care campaign.

However, the union was stunned to be told “thanks, but no thanks”.

Union secretary Gerard Hayes. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi

In a blunt email to the HSU, Bathurst Broadcasters general manager Janeen Hosemans said there was not evidence Mr Gee was “directly responsible” while the ad also brought into question the “unblemished reputation of every aged care worker in our broadcast area”.

“There is no evidence of substandard care being delivered in any of the aged care facilities within our licence area. The commercial suggests otherwise,” Hosemans wrote.

The HSU represents around 95,000 workers, with about 25 per cent working in aged care.

Union secretary Gerard Hayes criticised the radio station for not running the ad for Gee given radio stations in other seats had no problem airing the ads.

“While aged care workers are struggling to look after 60 residents at a time, 2BS is more interested in a local MP,” Hayes said.

“BS by name, BS by nature.”

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Originally published as Affairs, hook-ups and dummy spits: Ministerial driver’s shocking tell-all