Daryl Maguire breaks silence after ICAC finds him ‘seriously corrupt’

Gladys Berejiklian’s ex has issued a bizarre statement lashing media for bothering his horses after being found seriously corrupt by ICAC.

Former Wagga MP has broken his silence after the ICAC found him of engaging in “serious corrupt conduct”. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Brendan Read

Daryl Maguire, the ex-partner of former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian, has responded to ICAC findings that he engaged in “serious corrupt conduct” with a bizarre statement.

His comments were shared through his legal counsel, Jim Harrowell, a partner at Hunt & Hunt, days after the anti-corruption watchdog recommended he be referred to the DPP for potential prosecution in its bombshell report.

The statement, which was riddled with formatting, spelling and grammatical errors, said he was “very proud of his many achievements serving the electorate of Wagga and NSW” and advocated for the “presumption of innocence”.

“Let it not be forgotten that during his time representing the people of Wagga and region he worked tirelessly for his constituents,” the two-page statement read.

“Indeed, he was described in evidence as a dog with a bone, a vociferous advocate for the electorate, or a pain in the arse when it came to getting improvements for the Wagga electorate.”

Daryl Maguire issued the statement on Monday through his lawyer. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Brendan Read

In the two-page diatribe, Mr Maguire lashed media for spooking his horses with drones, before suggesting he may take legal action against the findings.

“Media . !!! (sic) During the past days there have been many serious invasions of privacy, not only to Daryl Maguire and his immediate family but alarmingly the stalking of young women going about their daily routine, harassment of employees and intimidation of clients of his business operations,” the statement said.

“There have been three traffic near collisions caused by media doing unsafe u turns in front of oncoming cars, parking unsafely, speeding and following young women to their work at 5am on at least two occasions.”

The statement goes on to accuse the media of “stalking, (doing) unsafe u turns, speeding … parking unsafely, and illegally flying drones above his rural agistment property contrary to regulations”.

“Which in turn spooked the valuable horses, again raising concerns from agistees (people who pay to home their livestock or horses on someone else’s property),” it read.

“We ask in all reasonableness, that you desist from your appalling behaviour towards these people and your unsafe reckless activities.”

The statement also mentioned a list of local projects that Mr Maguire oversaw during his tenure as Wagga MP and said he “denies all allegations referring to the projects above”.

This included projects like the Riverina Conservatorium of Music and the upgrades to Wagga Base Hospital and Tumut Hospital, which were done “entirely without any expectation of any personnel benefit”.

The former NSW Liberal MP (left) leaves Sydney’s Downing Centre with his lawyer Jim Harrowell. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Brendan Read

Separate to the investigation, Mr Maguire has also been charged with criminal conspiracy over allegations of visa and migrant fraud between January 2013 and August 2015 while he was in office.

The Australian Border Force allege he conspired with migration agent Maggie Sining Logan, who also faces multiple charges of causing the delivery of documents with a false statement.

He has also been charged with giving false and misleading evidence to ICAC over a 2018 investigation, Operation Dasha.

Mr Maguire has not made any plea in relation to the charges and the matter remains before the courts.

Mr Maguire’s former partner of five years, former premier Gladys Berejiklian, was also found to have engaged in corrupt conduct. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi

On Thursday, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) found Mr Maguire improperly used his public office during his time as a MP in order to promote his own financial interests and those of his associates while deliberately not disclosing his position and potential pecuniary benefits.

ICAC also said it was seeking advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to potentially refer Mr Maguire for criminal charges.

It was also scathing of Ms Berejiklian, who was also found to have engaged in “serious corrupt conduct”; however, it did not recommend criminal charges.

The report said it was a “grave” breach of the ministerial code by Ms Berejiklian for not disclosing her “close personal relationship” with Mr Maguire that was a “conflict of interest” that prevented her from balancing her public duties with her private interest.

It also said she should have reported her “suspicions” of Mr Maguire’s corrupt or potentially corrupt behaviour.