A disgraced ex-MP has detailed his "on again, off again" relationship with Gladys Berejiklian, as a phone call that could be damning for the Premier is played.
Disgraced former Liberal MP Daryl Maguire has survived his second day of grilling at an ICAC inquiry into his potentially corrupt conduct as a politician.
Mr Maguire, the former Wagga Wagga MP, was questioned on his relationship with Premier Gladys Berejiklian, a $1.5 million commission he was hoping to earn from a sale in western Sydney and how he often served as a "door opener" for property developers and Chinese businessmen.
The most damning allegation to come out of today's hearings was in relation to Mr Maguire's involvement in the $330 million Badgerys Creek land sale, that would've seen him net a commission profit of $1.5 million.
An intercepted phone call between Mr Maguire and Ms Berejiklian was played to the inquiry today with the former MP later admitting he had discussed how the sale could potentially make him "debt-free".
Mr Maguire yesterday spent more than six hours on the stand as ICAC's counsel assisting Scott Robertson ran a fine-toothed comb through the former MP's controversial business schemes.
The Premier is facing continual pressure over what she knew about her ex-lover’s business dealings, with more allegations emerging today that have seen her leadership called into question.
Follow our live updates of Mr Maguire’s appearance at ICAC below.
ICAC has adjourned until 10am on Friday after a lengthy private session with former Liberal MP Daryl McGuire over his relationship with NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.
Counsel assisting the inquiry Scott Robertson has given a somewhat cryptic explanation for why that took so long, suggesting it did not relate entirely to that discussion of their secret relationship but another matter that arose.
Mr McGuire will be back in the witness stand for his final day of evidence tomorrow.
– By Samantha Maiden
The ex-lover of NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has admitted today he hoped for a $1.5m payday over the potential sale of land owned by the Waterhouse family near Badgerys Creek today.
In his second day in the witness box at the ICAC hearings, former Liberal MP Daryl Maguire has also conceded he discussed the potential land deal with Ms Berejiklian multiple times, although he didn't seem to ever discuss his potential $1.5 million success fees with her.
The former Wagga Wagga MP said he only discussed it in "broad terms." He did tell her the "Badgerys Creek stuff" would help him pay off his debts.
Mr Maguire also conceded it was part of his plan to clear his debts and retire from politics.
He's also given his first evidence into the nature of his secret relationship with the NSW premier, describing it as “on again off again”.
Asked whether it was still ongoing he replied: “Not after this, it wouldn’t be."
He's also revealed he arranged for a "tipsy" property developer mate, Joseph Alha, to drop in on the NSW Premier unannounced in her office.
Phone taps also reveals he urged Mr Alha to "pour his heart out" in an email outlining his development woes and that he promised to give it to the NSW Premier, his secret girlfriend at the time.
“I’ll give it to her, all right,” Maguire says.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has called on Opposition Leader Jodi McKay to "take it outside" after the Labor MP accused her of "being a sounding board for corruption".
Ms McKay and Ms Berejiklian clashed at Question Time this afternoon as the premier fiercely demanded the opposition leader to either withdraw her question or say it outside parliament.
Debate in parliament is privileged, allowing MPs to be safe from defamation suits inside however anything said outside could be subject to legal action.
Ms McKay's question came after former MP Daryl Maguire today told an ICAC inquiry he had discussed trying to become debt-free in 2017.
"Will you admit you were his sounding board for corruption?" Ms McKay said.
A deeply angered Ms Berejiklian said the question was "extremely offensive" and "wrong in every single way".
"I ask her to withdraw it or say it out there. Either withdraw it or say it outside," the premier said.
Ms McKay responded to their Question Time tiff on social media this afternoon, claiming NSW "has a right to know".
These might be uncomfortable questions, but the people of NSW have a right to know why Gladys Berejiklian accepts corruption in her Government. #nswpol
— Jodi McKay (@JodiMcKayMP) October 15, 2020
Premier Gladys Berejiklian engaged in some furious debate during NSW's Parliament Question Time this afternoon as the Opposition questioned her on her former boyfriend Daryl Maguire, who is the subject of a corruption inquiry.
Opposition Leader Jodi McKay asked if NSW residents could trust the premier, claiming she had "lied to ICAC".
Ms Berejiklian gave evidence at the ICAC inquiry on Monday, spending hours being questioned on if she knew Mr Maguire had told her he was using his position in parliament to further his business interests. The premier has repeatedly denied knowing what Mr Maguire was doing.
In Question Time, a furious Ms Berejiklian addressed Ms McKay's alelgation.
"Can I say that I provided assistance as a witness on Monday in great detail. I was forthright, direct, much to my personal detriment but I had to do it because it is in the public interest," Ms Berejiklian yelled in parliament.
"And I say to the people of New South Wales that every day that I have been in this place, since 2003 I've worked hard, I've worked my guts out to the people, I will continue to do that.
"I never have and never will do anything wrong but I will work my guts out for the people of this great state!"
The ICAC inquiry remains on hold this afternoon as Mr Maguire is played "private" phone calls between him and Ms Berejiklian.
-By Samantha Maiden
Now is a good time to return to the NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian's evidence on Monday about what she knew about her former partner's Badgerys Creek deal.
Remember, the inquiry has just been told Mr Maguire was hoping for a $1.5 million pay day from a land sale. He also told the NSW Premier he was involved in some "Badgerys Creek stuff" that would help him clear his debts in a phone call intercepted by the corruption watchdog in 2017.
The couple hoped they might go public with their relationship when he left politics.
Here's the transcript from that exchange on Monday when counsel assisting Scott Robertson probed the premier about Mr Maguire's 2017 dealings.
ROBERTSON: Did Mr Maguire ever tell you that he was attempting to assist in procuring the sale or development of any land in or around Badgerys Creek?
BEREJIKLIAN: Mr Robertson, I had no recollection of that until you raised it with me at the recent public hearing – sorry, private hearing – in which case, you, you brought to my attention that he mentioned that to me some time ago.
ROBERSTSON: So are you saying, at the time of the private hearing, you had no recollection at all about Mr Maguire telling you about attempting to assist in procuring the sale or development of land in or around Badgerys Creek?
Ms Berekiklian said she did not remember that until ICAC raised it with her.
At this point, counsel assisting the inquiry Scott Roberston played her the phone tap.
ROBERTSON: This was 5 September, 2017.
The audio recording, the phone call between the former couple, is played.
ROBERTSON: So do you agree that as 5 September, 2017, you knew that Mr Maguire had something to do with “Badgerys Creek stuff” and that in the event that it was successful, he would be debt free?
BEREJIKLIAN: Mr Robertson, I would have, I, I don’t think I would have paid much attention to this, because I would have assumed it’s quite fanciful, in terms of what he was suggesting and as you note, the details are very scant. So I, I wouldn’t have paid much attention to what was there. Mmm.
ROBERTSON: Well, you don’t say it was fanciful, you say, “I can believe it,” or something at least with the word “believe” in it.
BEREJIKLIAN: Yeah, but I can’t, yeah, but I can’t, I can’t even assure you that I was listening properly or, or, or just being polite. Yep.
Counsel assisting Scott Robertson has called for a private hearing on the grounds that some of the details of Mr Maguire's relationship with the NSW Premier should not be in the public domain.
Mr Robertson said while the nature of the relationship is relevant, there are details of the relationship which are not in the public interest.
The inquiry has been probing whether one of the pressures involved in Mr Mauire's divorce, his debts and his hopes to go public with his secret relationship with Ms Berejiklian was a factor in the business deals he was entangled with at the time.
Mr Robertson has told the inquiry that he didn't want to hold a "public trial" on the intimate details of the pair's relationship.
"In my respectful submission, this commission should not conduct something in the nature of a public trial as to the nature and extent of the relationship between these two individuals,'' he said.
"The nature and extent of the relationship between the individuals is relevant in the commission's exercise to assess the evidence that's presently before the commission. However, given that it trespasses on
matters of considerable personal privacy, in my respectful submission, the public interest in dealing with matters in public that are recognised by Section 31 in the case of the particular matters that I now want to put to Mr Maguire is outweighed, and, indeed, in my respectful submission, significantly outweighed by the public interest in ensuring the privacy of Mr Maguire and Ms Berejiklian in relation to a subject matter.
"So, my application is for the commission to proceed in a private session."
As a result, the inquiry has now cleared the room of visitors and will take evidence from Mr Maguire on some aspects of the couple's relationship in private.
– With Samantha Maiden
Mr Maguire also for the first time properly spoke about his "on again, off again" relationship with the premier.
He said the couple had only recently ended their relationship – "sometime in August or September" – and it was the ICAC inquiry that ended it.
When questioned if they were still together, Mr Maguire said "not after the events of this, I wouldn't think".
Mr Maguire said their relationship began "some time in 2015 or 2016. I can't be clear. I was on again off again".
"We were always good friends," he added.
Ms Berejiklian has previously given evidence the couple had a secret relationship for five years that commenced in 2015.
The former MP also said the two had discussed building a future together and going public with their relationship, which hinged on him retiring from politics.
"That was my recollection…my feeling was I was ready to go," he said.
Mr Maguire was questioned multiple times on whether he discussed his business dealings with property developers with the premier.
"You at least kept her informed from time to time?" Mr Robertson asked.
"I may have from time to time," Mr Maguire said. "I don't recall – it's vague."
Mr Maguire said he and the premier would speak about "general problems I was having with life", including his $1.5 million debt.
– With Samantha Maiden
Another intercepted phone call between Daryl Maguire and Gladys Berejiklian has been played at the inquiry.
In the phone call, Mr Maguire told the premier he would be "debt free" after the sale of land near Badgerys Creek.
The shock revelation is likely to increase pressure on the NSW Premier to resign.
The phone tap, that occured in September, 2017, was previously played to Ms Berejiklian, but has now been put into the fresh context of his expectation that he hoped for a $1.5 million commission on the $330 million land sale.
"Do you agree that the male voice on the call was yours and the female voice was Gladys Berejiklian," counsel assisting Scott Roberston asked Mr Maguire.
Mr Roberston probed Mr Maguire about how much the NSW Premier knew about his dealings and whether the huge payday would help him leave politics and allow the couple to go public with the relationship.
"What I'm trying to understand, at least in this call, there's a reference to Jimmy and a reference to Badgerys Creek stuff. And she doesn't respond by saying, 'I don't know what you're talking about', or 'Who's Jimmy?' Or 'What is the Badgerys Creek stuff'? Do you agree there was at least some communication in advance of the call that I've just identified that raised the Badgerys Creek stuff?" Mr Robertson asked.
"Uh..yes," Mr Maguire replied.
-By Samantha Maiden
The ICAC inquiry has heard about "financially obsessed" Daryl Maguire and his hopes of securing a $1.5 million commission from a land sale in Sydney's west.
Mr Maguire told the corruption hearing he hoped to secure the massive payday from a commission on land near Badgerys Creek.
The former Liberal MPwas asked if he considered the commission on the sale could have been worth up to $1.5 million.
"Yes, I had considered that," he said.
At the time of the discussions Mr Maguire was deeply in debt and owed $1.5 million.
The debts related to both a mortgage on his family home in Wagga Wagga and business loans.
He was also divorcing his wife Maureen and was funding a substantial payout to her as a financial settlement.
Mr Maguire has already admitted he took stops to help with the sale of the land in western Sydney to help Louise Waterhouse.
Ms Waterhouse wanted to sell a parcel of land around the site of the planned second Sydney airport.
– By Samantha Maiden
Former Liberal MP Daryl Maguire has revealed he sought the advice of the parliamentary ethics adviser after a Chinese company sounded out about a position.
At the time, in 2017, Mr Maguire said he had already decided not to contest the next election.
Mr Maguire has been grilled today about his retirement plans and whether he was trying to make profits to set him up for the future or to make money to pay off his debts at the time.
"You were desirous, to put yourself in the best possible financial position?," counsel assisting Scott Robertson asked.
"I am suggesting you are not just putting some irons in the fire. You are trying to get your debts paid off?
Mr Maguire insisted his discussions with United World Enterprises were not as formal as suggested.
"It was just touched on and left at that. It was mentioned. There was no formal offer,'' Mr Maguire said.
However, as a result, he revealed he sought the formal advice of the parliamentary ethics officer.
"I really wanted to look to the future and have something to do,'' Mr Maguire said.
On Monday, the hearing was told that Mr Maguire had financial ties to UWE but Ms Berejiklian said she did not know about those links.
“From my recollection it was about jobs, regional jobs,” she said. “I didn’t even know what UWE was.”
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