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Premier oversaw fund that set aside $5.5m for project pushed by Maguire
Premier Gladys Berejiklian oversaw a fund that set aside $5.5 million for a project championed by her then secret partner Daryl Maguire and that he allegedly later tried to profit from.
The Restart NSW fund fell under Ms Berejiklian’s portfolio as Treasurer when it reserved the money in December 2016 for the Australian Clay Target Association to build new headquarters in Wagga Wagga.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian stressed the ICAC had examined the matter and had not found she had any case to answer.Credit: Brook Mitchell
Mr Maguire publicly announced the $5.5 million had been set aside shortly afterwards in January 2017 and was lauded by community representatives for his "tireless" advocacy.
However the grant was not formally approved until several months later following a merit-based assessment by staff in the Department of Regional NSW and an independent review by Infrastructure NSW.
The Independent Commission against Corruption subsequently heard Mr Maguire's company secretly sought a commission from the fit out of the club's new headquarters, which included a clubhouse and large convention centre.
There is no suggestion that Ms Berejiklian was aware that Mr Maguire sought to financially benefit from the project.
Daryl Maguire arriving at the ICAC in October.Credit: Rhett Wyman
After the revelations were first reported by the ABC on Thursday morning, Ms Berejiklian was pressed on her involvement in the funding decision at a press conference.
She would not answer directly when asked whether she ever discussed the funding decision with Mr Maguire.
However Ms Berejiklian stressed the ICAC had examined the matter and had not found she had any case to answer.
"They had all this information," she said. "They've stated that I'm not an affected witness and that remains the case."
Ms Berejiklian said as Treasurer she had oversight of a number of funds, but she wasn’t the "relevant minister" in relation to the grant.
"All those arrangements went through the normal processes, I don't intervene in those processes," she said.
Former ICAC assistant commissioner Anthony Whealy QC said if the watchdog decides to raise any issue with the grant process with Ms Berejiklian and her lawyers, it is likely to occur during upcoming submissions hearings.
"Even if ICAC don't raise it, I think it’s a reasonable debate to have in public," Mr Whealy said.
"We must expect our ministers and the Premier, as the top minister, to have very serious regard for the code of conduct and to avoid conflicts of interest whenever they arise. That’s what we expect as a community."
Former ICAC assistant commissioner Anthony Whealy QC. Credit: Peter Rae
Mr Whealy said the key questions in relation to the code of conduct were whether Ms Berejiklian had any hand in any aspect of the grant's approval and, if so, whether there was a duty to expose her relationship with Mr Maguire and abstain from taking part.
The second issue was whether Ms Berejiklian could have reasonably expected Mr Maguire to benefit from the grant, either financially or by bolstering his re-election chances, Mr Whealy said.
The ICAC probe has heard Mr Maguire was a silent director of a business called G8wayinternational, which he ran with his business partner Phil Elliott.
G8way was paid a "small commission" for its involvement in furnishing the clay target club’s new premises, Mr Elliott told the ICAC.
G8way was paid the fee by a furniture business in China which supplied members of the Clay Target Association with 1300 chairs for its new convention centre.
The commission was intended to be more substantial but G8way agreed to wear unexpected costs that were encountered during the process, the ICAC heard.
"Mr Maguire was a great advocate for the development of the, the project, the building," Mr Elliott said.