Former NSW MP Daryl Maguire could face criminal probe after ICAC inquiry

Scandal-ridden former MP Daryl Maguire may face charges for giving ‘false or misleading evidence’ to ICAC.

Former NSW Liberal MP Daryl Maguire. Picture: Dylan Robinson

Scandal-ridden former Liberal MP Daryl Maguire could face criminal charges for giving “false or misleading evidence” to ICAC, with the corruption watchdog seeking legal advice from the NSW public prosecutor.

The final report into the Operation Dasha probe — the Independent Commission Against Corruption’s investigation into former Canterbury Council councillors Michael Hawatt and Pierre Azzi — will also seek legal advice relating to “serious corrupt conduct” engaged in by Mr ­Hawatt, Mr Azzi and then director of city planning Spiro Stavis.

Released on Monday afternoon, the findings relate to activities between 2014 and 2016 where Mr Hawatt and Mr Azzi misused their positions to approve planning proposals at the council that saw them paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to vote favourably on development applications.

The pair also used their position to appoint Mr Stavis in a $250k planning role for which he was woefully underqualified, by giving him the interview questions and providing former Canterbury Council general manager Jim Montague with 20 weeks’ salary to make the appointment.

The councillors failed to disclose their relationship with developers when voting on DA applications, while Mr Hawatt used his position to assist development applications for two properties in which his daughter and son-in-law had a financial interest, ICAC Commissioner Patricia ­McDonald said.

The ICAC public hearings forced Mr Maguire to retire from parliament after phone intercepts revealed he had tried to leverage his relationship with Mr Hawatt to organise property deals for a “mega big” developer.

The final report did not recommend seeking legal advice for corruption charges against the former Wagga Wagga MP.

Instead, it found ICAC should seek the advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions for Mr ­Maguire’s failure to provide ICAC with truthful evidence when he took to the stand during public hearings in July 2018.

“Given the quantity of admissible evidence, the commission is of the opinion that the advice of the DPP should be sought with respect to the prosecution of Mr Maguire for offences under s87 of the ICAC Act in respect of his evidence,” Commissioner McDonald wrote.

The DPP determines whether any criminal charges can be laid, and conducts all prosecutions.

The commissioner pointed to two examples of Mr Maguire’s failure to provide accurate evidence: when asked about his relationship with Mr Hawatt, he denied having approached the counsellor with a “view of making money out of a business” in 2016; and he also denied approaching him on behalf of Chinese developer Country Garden.

ICAC’s report is only the beginnings of Mr Maguire’s troubles, with the ongoing Operation Keppel probe investigating allegations to sought to “monetise his position as a member of parliament, parliamentary secretary and chair of the NSW Parliament Asia Pacific Friendship Group”.

Public hearings last year revealed Mr Maguire had used his public office to run an illegal “cash for visa” scheme while trying to stitch together a property deal for Louise Waterhouse that would net him a $690k commission.

It also revealed Mr Maguire and Premier Gladys Berejiklian had been in a secret relationship for several years, finishing only after Ms Berejiklian was called for ICAC hearings in 2020.

Although the preliminary findings were expected three months ago, ICAC recently said the investigation was still ongoing.

The Commissioner will also seek legal advice regarding the conduct of two property developers — Charbel Demian and Marwan Chanine.