How secret affair tore Gladys Berejiklian down

Gladys Berejiklian was dubbed “the gladiator” by Scott Morrison and it seemed she was unstoppable - until she appeared before NSW’s corruption watchdog.

When Gladys Berejiklian’s secret affair with colleague Daryl Maguire was revealed, it was a bombshell no one saw coming and the first time question marks had ever been raised about her integrity.

The daughter of Armenian immigrants, who herself couldn’t speak English until she started primary school, she had always presented as a shiny “goody-two-shoes” , a “straighty one-eighty” and a workaholic.

Behind her determined image, there was a history of family tragedy and sacrifice. Ms Berejiklian’s four great-grandparents were victims of the Armenian genocide, which killed more than 1.5 million people. Her orphaned grandparents, fled to the Middle East where her father was born.

Gladys Berejiklian after being sworn in as Premier with her family (from left) sister Rita, dad Krikov, mum Arsha and sister Mary.

Both her parents emigrated to Australia in 1960 and met and married in Sydney. They were both in search of a better life, and those beginnings have long been seen as the driver of her glittering political career.

The eldest of three daughters, Ms Berejiklian revealed there was another family tragedy which privately drove her to try even harder – the death of her twin sister at birth.

“I’m very lucky… for me every day in life is a bonus…. I feel like I’ve got to justify my existence by sacrificing. So I don’t care if I’m not happy all the time. I feel like I’ve got to work hard,” she said.

Gladys Berejiklian, with her mum, dad and sisters. (from left, top) Arsha, mum and Krikor, dad, (from left, botom) Rita, Mary and Gladys.

Gladys Berejiklian as the President of the NSW Young Liberals.

And work hard she did. At school she was a dedicated student frequently topping the class. She was elected school captain of Peter Board High School in North Ryde.

She went on to study for a Bachelor of Arts and a graduate diploma in international studies at the University of Sydney. She then undertook a Masters in Commerce from the University of NSW and worked as a senior manager at the Commonwealth Bank.

While still at university she joined the NSW Young Liberals and held the position of President from 1997 to 1998 – only the third female president in its history.

In 2003 she was elected to the NSW state parliament as the member for Willoughby.

In her maiden speech, Ms Berejiklian gave a nod to her family’s past saying that “from a very young age I was imbued with a great appreciation of all the opportunities I had and how fortunate I was to be born and raised in a country like Australia.”

But she also said, in words that she will now have to live by: “In a society increasingly cynical about the political process and organised institutions, I believe it is more imperative than ever to have a constant point of reference, a core set of ideals and guiding principles to rely on, an anchor when one’s mettle is tested and tough decisions need to be made.”

MP Gladys Berejiklian at The Monkey Bar Chatswood on Pollies for small business day. Picture: Paul Melville

From the moment she entered state parliament, Ms Berejiklian was on an upwardly mobile trajectory.

Within two years she joined the frontbench as Shadow Minister Mental Health and was appointed to the opposition frontbench portfolio of Transport the next year.

After the 2007 state election, she was given the shadow portfolio of Citizenship by then Opposition Leader Barry O’Farrell.

In 2011, Mr O’Farrell won power in a landslide election and Ms Berejiklian was elevated to the position of Transport Minister.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian in Manly with former Premier Mike Baird.

After Mr O’Farrell’s resignation after a “memory fail” over a bottle of Grange wine at an ICAC hearing, Mike Baird was elected leader in 2014 and Ms Berejiklian deputy.

Within a year she was given responsibility for the State’s finances as Treasurer.

Ms Berejiklian then succeeded Baird as leader of the Liberal Party with Mr Baird endorsing her as making “an outstanding Premier ... No doubt about it.”

From there Ms Berejiklian led the Coalition into the 2019 election making history as the first woman elected Premier in NSW in her own right.

She was dubbed “the gladiator” by a jubilant Prime Minister Scott Morrison and it seemed she was unstoppable.

As the pandemic unfolded in NSW, Ms Berejiklian had to apologise over the NSW Health’s handling of the Ruby Princess debacle, but she soon won public plaudits for her hard work leading the state through the health crisis.

Gladys Berejiklian with former boyfriend Daryl Maguire.

But then came her appearance at the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

From the moment she revealed she was in a “close personal relationship” with Mr Maguire her squeaky-clean image lost its lustre.

Ms Berejiklian explained: “I am a very private person and I didn’t feel the relationship had sufficient substance for it to be made public.”

But her evidence and explanations only served to fuel more questions. And they never stopped.

Pressure mounted as reporters used the daily Covid-19 press conference, the only opportunity available to them, to ask questions about whether she was being investigated by the ICAC. Until Thursday the answer was no.

Gladys Berejiklian puts her mask back on after speaking to the media during a Covid-19 press conference in Sydney. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi

Perhaps in some kind of irony, Ms Berejiklian began her career talking about how she hoped it would finish.

“At the end of my parliamentary career I would like to look back and believe that I have contributed to improving the opportunities and standard of living of the people of Willoughby and the people of New South Wales,” she said in her maiden speech.

Friday’s bombshell announcement almost certainly marks the end of her parliamentary career.

But as she walked away from her press conference, she still had the people of NSW in the forefront of her mind saying: “Serving you has been the greatest privilege of my life”.