ICAC live: Evidence related to Gladys Berejiklian, Daryl Maguire relationship set to be made public
The evidence relates to the Premier’s relationship with the ex-MP, who has admitted to misusing public office.
- Berejiklian evidence set to be released
- Maguire warned: That’s ICAC-able
- ICAC apologises to Berejiklian
- Premier rebuffs journalists
- Maguire kept details from Berejiklian
- Premier told about Waterhouse deal
Welcome to coverage of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, where former Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire has been questioned for a third day by Counsel Assisting, Scott Robertson. Mr Maguire has finished giving evidence.
Staff Reporters 4.55pm: Maguire ‘improperly used his position for personal benefit’
Scott Robertson asks Daryl Maguire whether, between 2012 and 2018, “on more than one occasion you improperly used your parliamentary resources and your position in parliament to gain benefit for yourself and people close to you?”
Mr Maguire: I agree.
Mr Robertson asks Mr Maguire if he also agrees that he “breached the public trust placed in you as a member of parliament, parliamentary secretary” and as the chair of the Parliamentary Friend Group for the Asia Pacific
Mr Maguire: I agree.
And with that, Mr Robertson says his questioning of Mr Maguire is complete. The former MP is discharged by the inquiry.
Keiran Gair 4.20pm: Maguire ‘didn’t run over evidence with a tractor’
Key evidence that Daryl Maguire initially claimed was destroyed in an “unfortunate” tractor accident had actually been seized by ICAC investigators.
Mr Maguire says he was “just being stupid” when he told his business associate Maggie Wang that his electronic devices had been run over by a tractor.
“I was just being stupid I don’t know why I said it,” he says. “It is a weird thing to say but I said it.”
The former Wagga Wagga MP now concedes that ICAC investigators seized his iPad when they executed a search warrant at his home in 2018.
He adds that he offered the investigators “tea or coffee” while they conducted the raid and searched his electronic devices.
Staff Reporters 4pm: PM defends Premier Berejiklian
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has gone into bat for Gladys Berejiklian, saying she is “the Premier NSW needs”.
Mr Morrison said Ms Berejiklian had been an “extraordinary leader” who’d had set a “gold standard” with her handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’ve worked with the Premier for many, many years,” Mr Morrison said at a press conference on Friday. “Gladys Berejiklian is the Premier that NSW needs in these difficult times.”
Kieran Gair 3.55pm: Maguire told staff: ‘Wipe everything’
Daryl Maguire has conceded he instructed staff to destroy evidence after he first appeared at the ICAC in 2018.
Mr Maguire said he told his staff to “wipe everything” after it became clear he would need to quit parliament.
When asked if he was motivated by a desire to stop the ICAC from obtaining the material, he says “partly, yes. “I told them to wipe everything,” he admits.
He tells the ICAC that he sent a message, through a friend, to his former business associate Maggie Wang, instructing her to delete files.
“Again, the purpose of that was to encourage Ms Wang to destroy information that might implicate you [and] keep it away from organisations like this commission,” asked counsel assisting the ICAC, Scott Robertson.
“Yes”, Mr Maguire replies.
The ICAC had previously heard that Mr Maguire “lost” a USB containing files in an “unfortunate” tractor accident.
Mr Maguire told the inquiry he “must have dropped it (the USB)” at the farm gate when he got out of his car “and it got run over several times”.
When asked if he “deliberately lost” the files, Mr Maguire says it wasn’t deliberate and that he does not “recall.”
“I didn’t care if I kept it or not but I did genuinely drop it at the gate accidentally,” he says. “I don’t know if I had a plan to dispose of that.”
Kieran Gair 3.30pm: Maguire told Berejiklian about $5k ‘commission’
Daryl Maguire told Gladys Berejiklian in a text message that one of his “contacts sold a motel” for almost $6m and that he would make “5k” while she was the state’s Transport Minister in 2014.
Counsel assisting the ICAC, Scott Robertson, has revealed the damaging text messages in an effort to prove that Mr Maguire’s illegitimate cash-for-visas scheme was not the only time that the former member for Wagga Wagga had failed to declare his income.
In the 2014 text messages, Mr Maguire told Ms Berejiklian that the sale of the motel for $5.8m would mean he “should make 5k”.
“Congrats!!! Great news!! Woo hoo,” Ms Berejiklian replied.
When asked if he actually received the money, Mr Maguire replies that he cannot “for the life of me” remember.
“I cannot for the life of me recall this,” he says. “I honestly don’t know.”
Kieran Gair 3.20pm: Berejiklian evidence to be released
Counsel assisting, Scott Robertson, has revealed that a portion of the transcript suppressed by the inquiry yesterday will be made available to the public after “sensitive” material was erroneously uploaded to the corruption agency’s website.
The evidence is related to Daryl Maguire’s five-year secret relationship with ex-partner and NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, and may contain details about possible taxpayer-funded trips she made to the member for Wagga Wagga’s electorate.
Mr Robertson said he would tender a request to lift the non-publication order on parts of the redacted transcript this afternoon, indicating that the material would not be made available until “much later”.
The inquiry has also circled back to Mr Maguire’s involvement in UWE and the company’s dispute with a Chinese shareholder.
The ICAC has previously heard that the former member for Wagga Wagga was eyeing a board position or consultancy role at UWE and had even threatened to fly to China to deal with the dispute himself.
He says he raised the issue with the minister for agriculture, Niall Blair, and the former trade minister, Stuart Ayres.
Mr Robertson reads out a letter that Mr Maguire wrote to a party committee secretary in China on parliamentary letterhead in which he raised a “potential loss of face by my political leaders” if the dispute wasn’t resolved.
Mr Maguire says he thought the action was “appropriate at the time” despite Mr Roberton’s suggestion that he did not have the authority to write such a letter.
He says he genuinely wanted to “solve that problem” and help UWE succeed because the company had been planning to open a plant in Wagga Wagga.
Staff Reporters 2.45pm: Ministers defend Berejiklian
NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet and Planning Minister Rob Stokes have offered their public backing to the Premier.
Mr Perrottet told a news conference on Friday that the public were “completely supportive of the Premier”.
“What I have seen from the Premier this week as we work through the budget and we continue to work through issues with the pandemic — she is completely focused on what she should be,” Mr Perrottet said.
“That’s why there is a groundswell of support for our Premier right now; because each and every day she puts the people of the state first.
“NSW ... is leading the nation. Under Gladys Berejiklian we have gone from being the worst economy to the best.”
Mr Stokes added: “We’re right behind her. The Premier has the undivided support of everyone in government. We have a strong team that is united behind Gladys Berejiklian who has done an extraordinary job as Premier of this state.”
Kieran Gair 2pm: What we’ve learnt so far
Daryl Maguire has admitted he tried to conceal key information from Gladys Berejiklian about an “ICAC-able” western Sydney land deal he had been trying to secure for a “pissed off” Louise Waterhouse.
In another stunning morning of evidence at the Independent Commission Against Corruption, the disgraced former Wagga Wagga MP revealed he was on a desperate crusade to pay off a $1.5m debt and believed he would be “back in the black” if he managed to help Ms Waterhouse sell a prized parcel of land around Badgerys Creek.
The racing heir told Mr Maguire she didn’t want the sale of the land surrounding the western Sydney airport zone to be a part of any “freedom of information” requests after he conceded it was “ICAC-able”.
In another intercepted phone call heard on Friday, Mr Maguire told Ms Waterhouse he had “done the rounds” with roads minister Melinda Pavey’s office, and instead believed it would be more useful if Ms Waterhouse contacted the premier.
He then passed Ms Berejiklian’s private email address to a “pissed off” Ms Waterhouse and told the premier over the phone that the wealthy landowner would contact her about the planned sale of land surrounding the western Sydney airport zone. The email never eventuated.
“Write her a letter ... dear premier ... You gave a great speech, you know, rub the ego,” he told Ms Waterhouse over the phone. “However, I thought I should inform you in the privacy of a correspondence, rather than publicly what’s happened.”
Mr Maguire also tried to convince the Consul for Japan in Sydney to find a Japanese investor to buy the land at Badgerys Creek because he was afraid China had “too much influence” and that a sale to a Beijing-backed company could attract unwanted attention.
The ICAC has previously heard that Mr Maguire and his business associate William Luong stood to earn a significant commission if the sale of the land owned by Ms Waterhouse had been successful. Although it never eventuated, Mr Maguire believed the sale could net almost $330m.
Ms Waterhouse and Mr Maguire also discussed their shared disdain for Lucy Turnbull, the then head of the Greater Sydney Commission and wife of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, because they believed her plans for Badgerys Creek would affect the price of the racing heir’s land.
The pair agreed her appointment was “dumb” and that she was not “qualified” to lead the commission, with Mr Maguire adding that Ms Turnbull “shouldn’t be there.”
The ICAC’s Assistant Commissioner Ruth McColl SC has also apologised to Ms Berejiklian and Mr Maguire after the inquiry inadvertently uploaded the former member for Wagga Wagga’s private evidence to the corruption agency’s website on Thursday evening.
The ICAC will conduct an international investigation into the circumstances surrounding the publication of the transcript while the privacy breach has also been referred to the independent ICAC inspector, barrister Bruce McClintock, SC.
The Premier said she had accepted an apology from the ICAC over the “unfortunate” incident after her barrister Arthur Moses, SC, said the publication of the material amounted to a “violation of my client’s privacy and her security”.
She has told reporters that she did not spend time with Daryl Maguire on any of the eight taxpayer-funded trips she made to his electorate of Wagga Wagga during 2018.
The inquiry continues.
Staff Reporters 1.15pm: Hearing breaks
The ICAC proceedings adjourn until 2pm, when Daryl Maguire will continue to face questions.
Kieran Gair 1.10pm: ‘No financial intermingling’ with Berejiklian
Daryl Maguire told Gladys Berejiklian about his “little friend” with the “polished head” and asked the Premier if she knew he was referring to.
“I don’t need to know,” she replied.
Counsel assisting the ICAC, Scott Robertson, asks why Mr Maguire was using code in phone conversations with Ms Berejiklian.
“I don’t know ... I can’t recall,” he answers.
He admits he is referring to his “great mate” Joe Alha, a property developer who wanted direct access to Ms Berejiklian and a cadre of her top ministers.
In the intercepted phone call, Mr Maguire says he has introduced his “little friend” to someone but tells Ms Berejiklian that “you don’t need to know what for”.
Asked by Mr Robertson about why he said this, Mr Maguire concedes he did not want to “burden her with any detail she didn’t need to know.”
“It was on a need to know basis,” he says.
He agrees with Mr Robertson’s assertion that there was “no financial intermingling” with Ms Berejiklian, who was also the former MP’s secret girlfriend.
The inquiry has previously heard that Mr Maguire let a “tipsy” Joe Alha “drop-in” to the Premier’s office in the NSW Parliament.
Mr Maguire said he told Mr Alha that they could “pop in and say hello to Glad” while the pair were sharing a “glass of red” in his office.
Henry Ergas 12.40pm: Berejiklian and Andrews: A tale of two crises
The turmoil in NSW involving Gladys Berejiklian and her ex-partner Daryl Maguire at ICAC is nothing compared with Machiavellian cover-ups in Victoria. Read more here
Kieran Gair 12.25pm: Maguire told Premier that developer would be in touch
Daryl Maguire passed Gladys Berejiklian’s private email address to a “pissed off” Louise Waterhouse and told the Premier over the phone that the racing heir would contact her about the planned sale of land surrounding the western Sydney airport zone.
In another intercepted phone call, Mr Maguire tells Ms Waterhouse he’s “done the rounds” with roads minister Melinda Pavey’s office and instead instructs the racing heir turned landowner to contact Ms Berejiklian.
He tells Ms Waterhouse to tread carefully because “all that stuff is, um, ICAC-able”, to which she replies: “Freedom of Information or whatever.”
Counsel assisting the ICAC, Scott Robertson, asks Mr Maguire why he instructed Ms Waterhouse to “write her (Ms Berejiklian) a letter”.
He agreed it was improper for him to pass on the premier’s personal email address to Ms Waterhouse.
The ICAC played another intercepted phone call from November 15, 2017, this time between Mr Maguire and Ms Berejiklian.
Mr Maguire: Did you get an email from Louise Waterhouse?
Ms Berejiklian: No.
Mr Maguire: You will. She’ll send you an email. She’s really pissed off now so um, about the you know, the, the airport.”
The former Wagga Wagga MP denies he did anything to attract a “tickle from the top” that would have helped push along Ms Waterhouse’s land deal.
He also told Ms Waterhouse about a meeting he arranged with Sarah Hill from the Greater Sydney Commission to discuss the land deal, after telling her that the commission’s boss, Lucy Turnbull, was “eminently unqualified.”
Mr Maguire has previously told the ICAC he would be “looked after” by business associate William Luong if Louise Waterhouse managed to sell the land she owned around the western Sydney airport zone.
Mr Maguire believed the sale could net almost $330m, which would easily have wiped the $1.5m debt he was desperately trying to settle.
Kieran Gair 12pm: Premier: I didn’t see Maguire during 2018 by-election
Gladys Berejiklian has told reporters that she did not spend time with Daryl Maguire while she was in Wagga Wagga during the 2018 by-election.
Ms Berejiklian made eight taxpayer-funded trips to Mr Maguire’s regional NSW electorate in 2018, but on Friday she said she could not recall visiting her then-boyfriend who was also the member for Wagga Wagga.
The Premier also said she had accepted an apology from the ICAC after the corruption agency inadvertently published a private transcript revealing sensitive information about her relationship with Mr Maguire.
“Suffice to say it has not been pleasant; unfortunately it didn’t happen once, but twice,” she told reporters at a COVID-19 briefing in Sydney. “I’ve accepted their apologies.”
Asked by a reporter about what it would take for her to resign as premier, Ms Berejiklian said: “When I have done something wrong.”
Earlier, Sydney barrister Arthur Moses, SC, for Ms Berejiklian, told the ICAC that the publication of the material amounted to a “violation of my client’s privacy and her security”.
The ICAC will conduct an internal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the publication of the transcript and the privacy breach has also been referred to the independent ICAC inspector, barrister Bruce McClintock, SC.
Assistant Commissioner McColl apologised for the privacy breach and conceded that the ICAC’s commitment to protecting Ms Berejiklian’s and Mr Maguire’s privacy had been undermined by the accidental publication.
Yoni Bashan 11.25am: Berejiklian stonewalls on whether she met ICAC
Gladys Berejiklian has refused to confirm whether she contacted ICAC investigators in 2018 to assist with their inquiries when her then boyfriend Daryl Maguire quit parliament on corruption allegations.
Ms Berejiklian repeatedly told journalists to refer to the evidence that she provided the Independent Commission Against Corruption during her appearance on Monday.
She also said it was important that she “respect the processes” of the ICAC, which included confidentiality around the summonses made for private hearings.
“I spent six hours being very open and transparent and I refer you to those comments,” she told journalists.
Asked on what basis she would consider her resignation, the premier said: “When I’ve done something wrong.”
Kieran Gair 11.20am: Maguire sought Japan interest for land deal
The ICAC is playing another intercepted phone call, this time between Daryl Maguire and the Consul for Japan in Sydney.
The inquiry has circled back to Mr Maguire’s crusade to find a buyer for the land surrounding the Badgerys Creek airport zone in western Sydney.
The disgraced former MP has previously conceded he believed the sale of the prized land – owned by Louise Waterhouse – could net him $1.5m, which would be enough money to settle his debts.
“You might like to find one or two of the best potential partners or buyers,” Mr Maguire is heard telling the consul.
“This friend who has the land is very keen and when I said [that] Japanese expressed an interest after the Premier’s visit their eyes lit up they said ‘ah Japanese good to do business with’.
“The infrastructure is around the airport and they have a I think a preference for some of our closer friends who we know we can rely on, do you know what I’m telling you? A South Korean company, a Japanese company.”
It’s not quite clear who “this friend” is, but it’s fairly safe to assume Mr Maguire is either referring to Ms Waterhouse or her property broker William Luong.
In the phone call, Mr Maguire says Australia can “depend” on South Korea or Japan, but notes China has “too much influence.”
Counsel assisting the ICAC, Scott Robertson, asks Mr Maguire if he was authorised to suggest China had “too much influence” over land deals in Australia, and the former MP replies “no.”
Kieran Gair 11am: Maguire tried to keep deal details from Berejiklian
Daryl Maguire has admitted he tried to conceal key information about a suspect land deal he was trying to secure for racing heir Louise Waterhouse from his then-girlfriend and Premier Gladys Berejiklian.
Mr Maguire said he “limited the information” he shared with Ms Berejiklian because he was aware it would “cause her difficulties”.
“Were you concerned if you shared a little bit more information ... she might need to take action in the exercise of her public functions?” Counsel assisting the ICAC, Scott Robertson asked.
“Yes, I would have been concerned that it would cause an issue for her,” Mr Maguire replied.
“I didn’t think she needed to know and the conversations I had commissioner were of a broad nature and I regularly refrained from giving too much detail because a lot of it was hypothetical too.”
Mr Maguire says he avoided discussing “specifics” with Ms Berejiklian, but Mr Robertson suggests there was at least “some discussion” about the “benefits” Mr Maguire had been trying to achieve for “people like Ms Waterhouse.”
For clarity, here’s the transcript from Mr Maguire’s answers to Mr Robertson’s questions about what the former MP told Ms Berejiklian about the Waterhouse land deal.
Mr Robertson: Were you concerned that if you shared a little bit more information that what you did with her (Ms Berejiklian) that she might need to take action in the exercise of her public functions?”
Mr Maguire: Well, yes, I would have been concerned that it would cause an issue for her, yes.
Mr Robertson: I mean, you’re at least concerned at this point, in time, weren’t you, about questions that might be raised as to the propriety of your involvement in the Badgerys Creek matter, would you agree?
Mr Maguire: Well, yes.
Mr Robertson: And you agree ... that at least in part you sought to shield some of that information from Ms Berejiklian.
Mr Maguire: Yes.
Mr Robertson: You shared some at least in general terms what you were up to and what you were doing?
Mr Maguire: Yes.
Mr Robertson: She was to some extent a sounding board to discuss the things you were involved in, general terms at least?
Mr Maguire: Yes.
Kieran Gair 10.40am: Premier told deal would get Maguire ‘in the black’
Counsel assisting the inquiry, Scott Robertson, has opened the ICAC by asking Mr Maguire about the Waterhouse land deal.
He reads out an intercepted text message from Mr Maguire to Premier Gladys Berejiklian from September 2017.
“Also good news we clinched the land deal for my friends ... I should be back in the black soon,” he wrote to Ms Berejiklian.
The land deal with racing heir Louise Waterhouse would mean Mr Maguire would be able to pay off a $1.5m debt.
The pair were trying to secure a buyer for a parcel of land that Ms Waterhouse owned around the western Sydney airport zone.
But Mr Maguire tells the inquiry he can’t recall if the text message was in reference to the Waterhouse deal.
Assistant Commissioner Ruth McColl, SC, interjects to say the only prospect of Mr Maguire being able to get “back in black” would be if he secured the Waterhouse deal.
Ms McColl asks Mr Maguire if he had “any other” way of setting his $1.5m debt.
“No commissioner, I didn’t,” he replies.
At one point, Chinese development company Country Garden was poised to pay the Waterhouse family $330m for the land surrounding Badgerys Creek.
Kieran Gair 10.20am: ICAC apologises to Premier after document leak
The ICAC’s Assistant Commissioner Ruth McColl SC has apologised to Gladys Berejiklian and Daryl Maguire after the inquiry inadvertently uploaded the former member for Wagga Wagga’s private evidence to the corruption agency’s website on Thursday evening.
Assistant Commissioner McColl said a full investigation would be conducted into the privacy breach and conceded that the ICAC’s commitment to protecting Ms Berejiklian’s and Mr Maguire’s privacy had been undermined by the accidental publication of the transcript.
Sydney barrister Arthur Moses, SC, for Ms Berejiklian, said the publication of the material amounted to a “violation of my client’s privacy and her security”.
The transcript was available for about half an hour on Thursday and the revelations contained in the redacted documents sparked a debate on the interplay between privacy and the public interest.
Counsel assisting Scott Robertson told the inquiry on Thursday that Ms Berejiklian’s previously secret relationship with Daryl Maguire was relevant to the corruption probe, but noted that the ICAC should not be a “public trial as to the nature and extent of the relationship.”
The ICAC issued an urgent suppression order and media outlets are barred from publishing any of the information contained in the transcript.
Commissioner McColl said the transcript from the closed two-hour examination of Mr Maguire’s evidence “shall not be published, copied or described in any manner.”
The ICAC will conduct an international investigation into the circumstances surrounding the publication of the transcript and the privacy breach has also been referred to the independent ICAC inspector, barrister Bruce McClintock, SC.
Kieran Gair 10am: Some of the questions facing Maguire
Former Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire will face a third day of questioning at the ICAC today, with investigators expected to again probe the politician’s possible misuse of public office and the role of his secret relationship with Premier Gladys Berejiklian.
In a major breach of privacy late on Thursday, the ICAC inadvertently uploaded a transcript of the disgraced former member’s evidence to the corruption watchdog’s website. The transcript was quickly removed and the content is suppressed.
But we wait for the ICAC to resume its hearings, it’s worth recapping some of the key developments from Thursday.
– Daryl Maguire admitted to letting a “tipsy” property developer Joe Alha to “drop-in” to Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s office in NSW Parliament. Mr Maguire said he told Mr Alha that they could “pop in and say hello to Glad” while the pair were sharing a “glass of red” in his office.
– An intercepted phone call between Mr Maguire and Ms Berejiklian revealed that the former MP told his secret girlfriend that he would be able to pay off a $1.5m debt when Louise Waterhouse sold a parcel of land around the western Sydney airport zone.
– The former MP confirmed he was in a close personal relationship with Ms Berejiklian from about 2015 to 2016 and that it was “on again, off again” until August or September this year.
– Mr Maguire was told he would be “looked after” by business associate William Luong if Louise Waterhouse managed to sell the land she owned around the western Sydney airport zone. Mr Maguire believed the sale could net almost $330m.
– Mr Maguire tried to “open doors” for property developers who wanted direct access to Ms Berejiklian and a number of senior ministers, including then planning minister Anthony Roberts, Transport Minister Andrew Constance, and Water Minister Melinda Pavey.
– The former MP’s ministerial diary revealed he set up a “meet and greet” between Chinese developers and planning minister Anthony Roberts while the ICAC also heard an intercepted phone call in which Mr Maguire told Joe Alha he could set up a meeting for the developer with Andrew Constance.
– Mr Maguire asked people to pay $1000 to come to Parliament House, including Ms Waterhouse and Mr Alha, and listen to his secret partner Ms Berejiklian and the NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet speak about his candidacy at a re-election fundraiser in 2017
Staff Reporters 9.40am: Maguire peppered with questions outside ICAC
Daryl Maguire has arrived for his third day of questioning at Sydney’s ICAC headquarters, where he was asked whether former girlfriend and current NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian should lose her job. He did not answer any questions.
Yoni Bashan 9.30am: Premier’s lover told her about debt-busting deal
Daryl Maguire excitedly told his former girlfriend, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, that he stood to clear his debts with a million-dollar windfall from a property deal he was organising with racing heiress Louise Waterhouse.
In a tense second day of questioning at the Independent Commission Against Corruption, Mr Maguire was grilled on the sale of the land at Badgerys Creek and his persistent work lobbying senior members of parliament on behalf of property developers. Read more here
Stephen Rice 9am: How mentor became Mr Fix-it
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. Read more here
Kieran Gair 8.30am: Ex-MP’s debt drove him to ‘open doors’
A desperate crusade to clear a $1.5m debt led former NSW MP Daryl Maguire to “open doors” for a property developer who wanted direct access to Gladys Berejiklian and a cadre of her top ministers, including the Transport Minister and former planning minister. Read more here
Chris Merritt 8am: ICAC’s medieval public shaming
This week’s public humiliation of Gladys Berejiklian marks a turning point and ICAC has disgraced itself. Read more here
Steve Jackson 7.30am: Berejiklian tight-lipped over taxpayer-funded trips
Gladys Berejiklian refuses to reveal whether she met up with secret beau Daryl Maguire on taxpayer-funded trips to Wagga Wagga after he was forced to quit parliament in disgrace, despite vowing to be “open and transparent in answering every single question” about the scandal. Read more here
Caroline Overington 7am: A night of wine, adoration and chat
Just yesterday Daryl Maguire was getting all uppity about how he’d never pimp out Gladys Berejiklian. Today? A different story. Read more here
Albanese apologises for ‘unkind’ Tourette slur in parliament
The PM has issued an apology to disabled Australians after being slammed for using Tourette syndrome to mock shadow treasurer Angus Taylor during QT.
Albanese apologises for ‘unkind’ Tourette slur in parliament
The PM has issued an apology to disabled Australians after being slammed for using Tourette syndrome to mock shadow treasurer Angus Taylor during QT.