How mentor Daryl Maguire became Mr Fix-it

Humiliating phone recordings reveal the extraordinary influence wielded by property developer Joseph Alha over Daryl ­Maguire.

Property developer Joe Alha is covertly photographed by the ICAC as he arrives at NSW Parliament House in 2017. Picture: The ICAC

Joseph Alha arrived at NSW parliament in Macquarie Street shortly before 4.30pm on November 15, 2017, carrying a large cardboard box under one arm and dressed in a sharp blue suit.

He was dressed to impress. Once inside parliament he ended up drinking red wine in the office of disgraced former MP Daryl Maguire.

Surveillance running sheets released by the Independent Commission Against Corruptionon Thursday describe Mr Alha arriving and meeting with Mr Maguire. They were collected as part of an extensive surveillance operation of Mr Maguire and his contacts, which also included a visit by Chinese property developers to NSW parliament in 2017.

According to evidence given to hearings of ICAC, Mr Alha, had quite an afternoon, meeting first with Robert Vellar, the chief of staff to then planning minister Anthony Roberts and then popping in to see Premier Gladys Berejiklian — at the time Mr Maguire’s girlfriend.

At the meeting with Mr Vellar, Mr Alha had “a whinge about planning in relation to a site” in Sydney.

Mr Maguire had sent a text message to Mr Vellar saying: “Mate, having a drink in my office want to join me for a red?”

Joe Alha and Daryl Maguire at NSW Parliament House. Picture: The ICAC

Mr Vellar gave evidence that when he arrived he was surprised to find Mr Alha sitting on a lounge with a plastic model of a building on the table. The staffer described it as “an ambush” and said he did not give any advice to the developer.

But Mr Alha was insistent on meeting the Premier.

“We’d had a couple of drinks”, Mr Maguire told the hearing, “so I said we’ll go and see and we’ll do a drop-in. Joe was insistent on saying hello.”

According to both Mr Maguire and the Premier, the conversation was brief and didn’t touch on Mr Alha’s development proposal.

A series of humiliating phone conversations recorded by the ICAC and played to the hearings have revealed the extraordinary influence wielded by the hitherto little-known property developer over his “mentor”, Mr Maguire.

Mr Alha is not accused of any wrongdoing but has featured prominently in the ICAC hearings into Mr Maguire’s business dealings.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian leaves her Sydney home. Picture: Jeremy Piper

Far from the longstanding friendship claimed by Mr Maguire, the ICAC tapes reveal something more like a master-servant relationship between the pair. “Who’s in charge of the train stations?” Mr Alha demanded in one call.

“Well, the minister for transport”, replied Mr Maguire nervously.

Mr Alha wanted a meeting with the minister to find out if there were plans to move a train station near one of his developments and it was clear he was displeased. “I want some f..king straight answers”, Mr Alha told the MP.

“I’ll go and have a chat” Mr Maguire said, stumbling.

The meeting never happened.

In one recorded conversation, Mr Maguire told Mr Alha to write a letter to Mr Roberts and to “cc the Premier”. “Joseph, write the letters tomorrow, pour your heart out. You cc the boss and you send it to Roberts,” Mr Maguire told Mr Alha.

Mr Alha asked how he would get Ms Berejiklian’s email address. “It’s killing me, it’s killing me”, Mr Alha told Mr Maguire. “How do I get the boss’s email?”

“Oh I’ll fix it”, the MP promised. “Send a copy to me and I’ll give it to her, all right.”

Mr Maguire said he couldn’t recall if he ever delivered the letter to Ms Berejiklian

The pair met in 2002 when Mr Alha was 22, just entering the building trade, and Mr Maguire was 43, elected as the member for Wagga Wagga three years earlier. Mr Maguire gave business advice to the younger man and they went on trips to China together. In recent years Mr Alha has moved from building luxury houses to apartment buildings in Sydney’s Canterbury area, where he grew up.

At some point the MP and the developer became aware that ICAC was on their trail. Mr Alha admitted using an encrypted smartphone app to communicate with Mr Maguire and then deleting the messages, because he thought an ICAC inquiry was likely.

In fact, the investigators were already listening.