NSW MP Daryl Maguire touts ‘dividend’ for $48m land deal

NSW government MP Daryl Maguire has resigned from his role as a parliamentary secretary after making admissions to ICAC.

MP Daryl Maguire leaves ICAC in Sydney yesterday. Picture: AAP

NSW government MP Daryl Maguire has resigned from his role as a parliamentary secretary but will remain in parliament after admitting to the state’s corruption watchdog he touted for a “dividend” if he could get “mega rich” Chinese property developers to buy into a proposed $48 million property deal.

Mr Maguire immediately stepped aside from the parliamentary Liberal Party after he made the admissions from the witness box at the Independent Commission Against Corruption yesterday.

Mr Maguire was secretly recorded in May 2016 speaking with then Canterbury City councillor Michael Hawatt, who is at the centre of an ICAC investigation into claims of improper conduct at the now defunct Canterbury City Council — in particular, the actions of two councillors, Mr Hawatt and Pierre Azzi.

In the phone taps played before the ICAC, Mr Maguire is heard telling Mr Hawatt he had a client with “mega big mega money” who would be interested in a site in the southwest Sydney suburb of Canterbury, which had been approved for 300 units.

He asked the councillor what “margin” he would get from the “quick sale”. “1.5 per cent isn’t enough divided by two if you know what I mean?” Mr Maguire said.

“Yeah, I understand. Yeah, I do understand,” Mr Hawatt said.

Mr Maguire replied: “So 3 per cent is much better.”

In the witness box, Mr Maguire admitted he appeared to be talking about “a dividend to be shared by two”. Asked who the other interested person would be, the government backbencher said: “Well, I suspect it was me.”

Mr Maguire was also recorded saying he needed a “stream” of property deals, including a couple of sites with development approval. “I need 30 projects.”

The company Mr Maguire described in the phone call as a “client” was Country Garden, a Chinese property development business.

Outside the ICAC, Mr Maguire apologised for causing “embarrassment and disappointment to a lot of people” before meeting Acting Premier John Barilaro.

In a statement later issued on his electorate website, Mr Maguire added: “I am deeply sorry and apologise sincerely for any hurt and embarrassment I have caused to my family friends and colleagues.”

Facing a hostile press conference last night, Mr Barilaro said Mr Maguire had “accepted what has done was wrong” and planned to take some time off.

“Daryl will be taking some leave and I’m sure that there’s much contemplation but he. has told the truth,” Mr Barilaro said.

‘‘He’s accepted what he’s done is wrong. He’s resigned from the Liberal Party.”

Asked if the people of Wagga Wagga deserved better given Mr Maguire’s admissions to the ICAC, Mr Barilaro said it would be up to him to “win back the trust” of his constituents.

“I think anybody in this state, regardless whether you are metro, regional country … expect everybody in parliament to act in the highest … integrity,” Mr Barilaro said. “That is why we do have the ICAC. We have the toughest laws in the country to deal with corruption.”

Acting Opposition Leader Michael Daley has called on the Premier to act immediately to have Mr Maguire removed from the parliament.

“This is extraordinary … Mr Maguire has been caught out by his own words and should be removed now,” Mr Daley said in a statement.

Additional reporting: AAP