ICAC wire taps reveal Daryl Maguire as ‘petulant, boorish and foul-mouthed’
COMMENT: With every wire tap played in the ICAC hearing, Daryl Maguire was increasingly revealed as a petulant, boorish, foul-mouthed and unreasonable MP, let alone boyfriend.
Opinion
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As the ICAC inquiry into Gladys Berejiklian and her former boyfriend Daryl Maguire drags on to its excruciating conclusion, two things are abundantly clear.
Firstly, Ms Berejiklian should have disclosed her relationship with Mr Maguire, if for no other reason than to avoid any “perception of favouritism” in her dealings with projects in his electorate.
And secondly, many would now understand why she didn’t disclose the relationship.
It could be her “not significant enough” explanation for non-disclosure is code for being more than a little bit embarrassed about falling for Mr Maguire.
With every wire tap played in court, Mr Maguire was increasingly revealed as a petulant, boorish, foul-mouthed and unreasonable MP, let alone boyfriend.
“All you do is shout at me sometimes,” Ms Berejiklian says during one of his ranting phone calls played to the ICAC. He referred to his own behaviour as “going feral”.
In an interview soon after her relationship was revealed, Ms Berejiklian said she was embarrassed about the situation she found herself in.
And after listening to the secret recordings many — especially those who have ever been in an unsuitable relationship — would understand why.
It’s little wonder she hadn’t introduced him to her proud mum and dad.
But while Ms Berejiklian’s choice of boyfriend is a curiosity, the question ICAC is considering is did her secret relationship represented a conflict of interest.
When the former premier used language such as “I’ll fix it”, “I’ll deal with it” and “you can’t have me fix all of your problems all of the time”, it’s not surprising the secret recordings piqued ICAC’s interests and we will find out in due course what Commissioner Ruth McColl ultimately makes of it all.
But Ms Berejiklian also has to deal with the court of public opinion. She maintains her innocence, saying her dealings with Mr Maguire were restricted to projects for local communities in the context of protecting her government’s electoral fortunes in the country and she did not benefit personally in any way.
Voters, many of whom still support the Premier who led them through a Covid pandemic, will be the ultimate judge of that.
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