ICAC turmoil: disgraced MP Daryl Maguire’s call to consul over sale of heiress’s land

Disgraced MP Daryl Maguire claimed that China’s ‘influence’ in Australia led him to try to secure a Japanese buyer for land owned by racing heiress Louise Waterhouse.

Keizo Takewaka, Consul-General of Japan in Sydney.

Daryl Maguire claimed it was concerns that China had “too much influence” in Australia that led him to try to secure a Japanese buyer for land owned by racing heiress Louise Waterhouse in western Sydney.

He made a bizarre attempt in November 2017 to persuade the consul for Japan in Sydney, Keizo Takewaka, to find a Japanese investor who would be willing to buy the land around the city’s planned second airport.

In an intercepted phone call heard at the ICAC on Friday, Mr Maguire suggests to Mr Takewaka that he find a buyer for Ms Waterhouse’s land near Badgerys Creek. “You might like to find one or two of the best potential partners or buyers,” Mr Maguire said.

“The infrastructure is around the airport and they have, 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.”

The inquiry also heard that Mr Maguire 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 the land.

The ICAC heard Mr Maguire claim he approached the consul because he was afraid China had “too much influence” and that a sale to a Beijing-backed company could attract unwanted attention to his business dealings.

Mr Takewaka, who is not accused of any wrongdoing, was told by Mr Maguire that Australia could “depend” on Japan when the country was in “trouble”.

“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’,” he said in the call.

Counsel assisting the ICAC, Scott Robertson, asked Mr Maguire if he was authorised to suggest China had “too much influence” over land deals in Australia, and he replied “no”.

The ICAC has previously heard that Mr Maguire and his business associate William Luong stood to earn a significant commission if they could find a buyer for Ms Waterhouse’s land.

At one point, Chinese development company Country Garden was poised to pay the Waterhouse family $330m for the land, a deal that would have wiped Mr Maguire’s $1.5m debt. The sale never eventuated, and nothing ever came of Mr Maguire’s overtures to Mr Takewaka.