Shorten feels sorry for Berejiklian: ‘She was punching below her weight’

Bill Shorten has said what the rest of us were thinking after Gladys Berejiklian’s relationship with an allegedly corrupt MP was exposed.

Former Labor leader Bill Shorten got a giggle out of Today host Karl Stefanovic when he said what the rest of us were thinking after Gladys Berejiklian’s relationship with an allegedly corrupt MP was exposed.

“She’s a smart lady who I think has been punching below her weight with perhaps a much more average guy. I have sympathy for Gladys at the human level,” Mr Shorten said of the NSW Premier.

Stefanovic laughed in response and said: “Bill, you have summed it up perfectly. Everyone in Australia wanted to say it.”

Ms Berejiklian’s personal life was thrust into the spotlight on Monday after she gave evidence to the Independent Commission Against Corruption, revealing she had been in a relationship with disgraced former MP Daryl Maguire for five years.

Despite calls from the Opposition for her to step down, Ms Berejiklian admitted she had made a mistake in her personal life but would continue to serve her state as premier.

Mr Shorten said he wanted to take his “Labor hat (off) for a moment”.

Former federal Labor leader Bill Shorten says Gladys Berejiklian ‘deserves a break’. Picture: Toby Zerna

“I was surprised, but I don’t know … It’s all pretty human isn’t it?” he said.

“I don’t hold that against Gladys. She’s a very dignified person.

“I think she would have been embarrassed by listening to the phone tapes of her conversation.”

Mr Shorten said he thought Ms Berejiklian deserved a break and “to at least try and get through this and not have her personal life thrust in front of the world”.

“Given what she’s done and how she’s helped,” he said.

The NSW Opposition will call for a vote of no confidence on Tuesday, but Ms Berejiklian is confident she has the support of her party.