Wagga Wagga set for by-election after Daryl Maguire hands in resignation
THREE weeks after being exposed at an anti-corruption hearing, NSW Liberal MP Daryl Maguire has handed in his resignation with Wagga Wagga expected to go to the polls next month.
NSW
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DISGRACED Liberal MP Daryl Maguire has finally officially resigned as an MP for Wagga three weeks after being exposed at an anti-corruption hearing touting for kickbacks from Chinese property developers.
The country MP tended his formal resignation to the NSW State Parliament Speaker’s office at 12.52pm today.
Despite Premier Gladys Berejiklian announcing two weeks ago he would quit the electorate, Mr Maguire has stayed on, collecting $588 a day, or more than $12,000 in taxpayer’s money in salary.
On July 13 secret tapes played at the ICAC revealed he had been discussing collecting “megabucks” from wealthy Chinese property developer Country Garden for doing property deals.
While Mr Maguire immediately stepped down as a parliamentary secretary that night, he vowed to remain in Parliament until the March 2019 state election.
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But the stalemate ended when Ms Berejiklian got help from former Premier Barry O’Farrell, a friend of Mr Maguire, to help pressure him to leave the parliament, with Ms Berejiklian announcing the disgraced MP would finally go before parliament returns next Tuesday.
It is expected the tightly run by-election will be held in September.
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The ALP has already preselecting local councillor and practising psychologist Dan Hayes, but the Liberals have not yet announced their candidate.
While Wagga Wagga is a safe Liberal seat, held by 12.9 per cent, the State Government has been hit by large by-election swings in its seven years in office, including losing the safe seats of Miranda and Orange.
The Shooters, Fishers and Farmers party is also expected to run for the seat.
Opposition leader Luke Foley said the “only reason” Mr Maguire left was because Labor had vowed to expel him from State Parliament under a rarely used standing order.
He said Mr Maguire was the twelfth Liberal MP to have resigned since 2011 under a cloud following an ICAC investigation.
“Daryl Maguire should have gone three weeks ago but because of the Premier’s weak leadership he has clung on to office,” Mr Foley said.
“The people of Wagga have had a lame duck for a member because the Liberals did everything in their power to avoid a by-election.
“It took Labor to force the issue. If we hadn’t then Daryl Maguire would still be sitting pretty and the Premier would have been able to sweep this latest scandal under the carpet.”