Australian state premier tells inquiry of relationship with politician probed over China scheme
Gladys Berejiklian reveals details about former MP who was allegedly involved in a cash-for-visas deal
12 October 2020 - 10:26
byKirsty Needham
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A screengrab obtained on October 12 shows New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian giving evidence during the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption hearings in Sydney, Australia. Picture: AAP IMAGE/ICAC VIA REUTERS
Sydney — The premier of Australia’s most populous state told a corruption inquiry on Monday that she had a secret “close personal relationship” with a politician under investigation for monetising his position through business dealings with China.
New South Wales (NSW) premier Gladys Berejiklian revealed the relationship to the NSW Independent Commission into Corruption (ICAC), prompting calls from the opposition Labor party for her resignation.
Addressing media after the hearing, Berejiklian said she had “made a mistake in my personal life” with a relationship she did not even disclose to her family or closest friends, but would continue to serve as premier because she has “not done anything wrong”.
“People may have tried to influence me … but they failed,” she said.
Berejiklian had earlier told the Icac she was “beyond shocked, disgusted” by evidence put before the inquiry that the former MP for the town of Wagga Wagga, Daryl Maguire, was allegedly involved in a “cash for visas scheme” for Chinese nationals involving falsified employment.
Maguire could not be reached for comment and will appear before the inquiry later in the week.
Maguire was forced to resign from the NSW parliament, and his position as chair of the NSW Parliament Asia Pacific Friendship Group, after a 2018 investigation heard he had sought to act for Chinese property developers in land deals.
Ceased contact
Berejiklian said she had been in a relationship with Maguire since 2015, and had once called him her “numero uno”, but demanded Maguire’s resignation after the 2018 Icac revelations.
She said she ceased contact with him in September after being privately interviewed by corruption investigators.
A new Icac inquiry is investigating Maguire’s pursuit of business deals between 2012 and 2018 that commonly involved an “association with China”.
Icac telephone intercepts played to the inquiry showed Maguire discussed his financial problems, including debts of $1.5m, with Berejiklian, as well as the potential for him to gain financially from an airport land deal.
Maguire wanted to resolve his debts before resigning from politics at the 2019 election, the inquiry heard.
If Maguire left politics, Berejiklian would have been willing to make their relationship public, she recalled.
She told the inquiry she was “an independent woman with my own finances”, adding she would “never turn a blind eye” to inappropriate behaviour.
“I am very clear of my public responsibilities and the distinction between my private life and public responsibilities.”
The inquiry was played a September 2017 telephone intercept in which Maguire talks about concluding a land deal, and Berejiklian responds, “I don’t need to know about that bit”.
Berejiklian said Maguire is “a big talker” and she would often dismiss his talk of deals as fanciful.
Maguire boasted in one telephone intercept that he had met Chinese President Xi Jinping, an encounter which Berejiklian explained to the inquiry was among a group of 15 NSW politicians who lined up to greet Xi on his visit to Sydney in 2014.
In 2017, Maguire wrote to the board of China’s biggest food producers, Bright Foods, to complain a delay in a deal with an Australian agribusiness UWE was “causing loss of face for my political leaders”.
Berejiklian said she had no knowledge of the letter and it was “highly inappropriate”.
Maguire had sought to join a NSW government trade delegation to China in 2017 to lobby for the project, but had been rebuffed by Berejiklian’s office, and told the delay would be raised in meetings.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Australian state premier tells inquiry of relationship with politician probed over China scheme
Gladys Berejiklian reveals details about former MP who was allegedly involved in a cash-for-visas deal
Sydney — The premier of Australia’s most populous state told a corruption inquiry on Monday that she had a secret “close personal relationship” with a politician under investigation for monetising his position through business dealings with China.
New South Wales (NSW) premier Gladys Berejiklian revealed the relationship to the NSW Independent Commission into Corruption (ICAC), prompting calls from the opposition Labor party for her resignation.
Addressing media after the hearing, Berejiklian said she had “made a mistake in my personal life” with a relationship she did not even disclose to her family or closest friends, but would continue to serve as premier because she has “not done anything wrong”.
“People may have tried to influence me … but they failed,” she said.
Berejiklian had earlier told the Icac she was “beyond shocked, disgusted” by evidence put before the inquiry that the former MP for the town of Wagga Wagga, Daryl Maguire, was allegedly involved in a “cash for visas scheme” for Chinese nationals involving falsified employment.
Maguire could not be reached for comment and will appear before the inquiry later in the week.
Maguire was forced to resign from the NSW parliament, and his position as chair of the NSW Parliament Asia Pacific Friendship Group, after a 2018 investigation heard he had sought to act for Chinese property developers in land deals.
Ceased contact
Berejiklian said she had been in a relationship with Maguire since 2015, and had once called him her “numero uno”, but demanded Maguire’s resignation after the 2018 Icac revelations.
She said she ceased contact with him in September after being privately interviewed by corruption investigators.
A new Icac inquiry is investigating Maguire’s pursuit of business deals between 2012 and 2018 that commonly involved an “association with China”.
Icac telephone intercepts played to the inquiry showed Maguire discussed his financial problems, including debts of $1.5m, with Berejiklian, as well as the potential for him to gain financially from an airport land deal.
Maguire wanted to resolve his debts before resigning from politics at the 2019 election, the inquiry heard.
If Maguire left politics, Berejiklian would have been willing to make their relationship public, she recalled.
She told the inquiry she was “an independent woman with my own finances”, adding she would “never turn a blind eye” to inappropriate behaviour.
“I am very clear of my public responsibilities and the distinction between my private life and public responsibilities.”
The inquiry was played a September 2017 telephone intercept in which Maguire talks about concluding a land deal, and Berejiklian responds, “I don’t need to know about that bit”.
Berejiklian said Maguire is “a big talker” and she would often dismiss his talk of deals as fanciful.
Maguire boasted in one telephone intercept that he had met Chinese President Xi Jinping, an encounter which Berejiklian explained to the inquiry was among a group of 15 NSW politicians who lined up to greet Xi on his visit to Sydney in 2014.
In 2017, Maguire wrote to the board of China’s biggest food producers, Bright Foods, to complain a delay in a deal with an Australian agribusiness UWE was “causing loss of face for my political leaders”.
Berejiklian said she had no knowledge of the letter and it was “highly inappropriate”.
Maguire had sought to join a NSW government trade delegation to China in 2017 to lobby for the project, but had been rebuffed by Berejiklian’s office, and told the delay would be raised in meetings.
Reuters
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