ICAC turmoil: Gladys Berejiklian fires up over ‘offensive’ prying

Gladys Berejiklian’s demeanour has hardened in the midst of ongoing speculation about her clandestine romance with disgraced former colleague Daryl Maguire.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian in Sydney on Wednesday. Picture: Getty Images

Gladys Berejiklian’s demeanour has hardened in the midst of ongoing speculation about her clandestine romance with disgraced former colleague Daryl Maguire, with the Premier labelling questions about the dynamics of their relationship “offensive” and warning that her tolerance for answering them was on the wane.

She bristled on Wednesday and responded angrily when a press conference she was giving on the latest number of confirmed corona­virus cases in NSW was overtaken with personal queries about her former partner and his dodgy business dealings.

“With all due respect, I’ve answered every question I’ve been asked over the past couple of days, I have been very open about issues that are very uncomfortable to me, issues I don’t talk about,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“Never ever have I done anything wrong in relation to my position, never ever have I tolerated anybody else doing anything wrong and if I ever saw it or witnessed it or knew about it, of course I would have taken action.

“Please be careful with the dots you are trying to draw, which simply do not exist … again I’m happy to answer all questions in relation to the public interest but my tolerance for answering questions which frankly are offensive is ­waning.”

Her fiery countenance was a marked shift from the contrition she showed earlier this week after revealing she had secretly been in “a close personal relationship” with Mr Maguire for five years while she was giving evidence before the Independent Commission Against Corruption in Sydney.

She told the inquiry that she had started seeing the now divorced father of two around the time of the NSW state election in March 2015 and continued the relationship after he was forced to quit politics following accusations of corruption in July 2018.

The relationship ended only when the Premier severed all connection with him after she appeared before ICAC in a private hearing in August this year.

The commission is investi­gating allegations Mr Maguire leveraged his position as a member of NSW’s parliament for his own personal financial gain and sought payment after brokering a property deal for a Chinese property developer.

Ms Berejiklian’s press conference unfolded at the same time her former beau was giving evidence at the ICAC and she was visibly rankled when asked about Mr Maguire’s influence in government during their relationship. “I will not have innuendo, incorrect statements, put to me, which I have found offensive,” she said.

“I have accepted to answer everything because it is in the public interest for the public to have confidence in me, and that’s why I have been very, very open about things that are very difficult to talk about … Things I don’t talk about even with the people closest to me.

“I have done that because the public deserves to know they have a premier who knows the distinction between her personal life, even though she stuffed up in it, (and) … her public office.”

Ms Berejiklian has not been accused of any wrongdoing but questions have been raised about her lack of judgment in maintaining an undisclosed personal relationship with a colleague, given the seriousness of corruption alle­gations against him.

She again apologised on Wednesday for placing her trust in the wrong person. “There is clear separation in what we do at work, what we do in our public life versus what we do in our personal lives, and I am more conscious of that than most people would appreciate,” she said “I say to the people of this great state, I apologise for the distraction, it was out of my ­control. I apologise completely.”

While the scandal has caused a political storm for Ms Berejiklian this week, it is not the first time her secret relationship has landed her in trouble. She came under fire in February 2018 over a meeting Mr Maguire had arranged between her and three publicans in his Wagga Wagga electorate to “discuss gaming issues” a few months earlier after it emerged two of them had criminal histories.

At the time, ICAC heard, the couple had been in a secret relationship for about 2½ years and she dodged enquires from the opposition about whether she retained her confidence in Mr Maguire.