Disgraced former NSW Liberal MP Daryl Maguire says he sought guidance and reassurance from Premier Gladys Berejiklian about a $1.5 million debt and "what I was doing... to solve some issues."
He made the declaration on Thursday after admitting to a corruption inquiry for the first time that he was in an "on-again, off-again" relationship with Ms Berejiklian for about five years.
Daryl Maguire enters the ICAC ahead of another day of questioning.Credit:Nick Moir
It is the latest in a series of admissions made by the former member for Wagga Wagga, who is appearing for the second day before the Independent Commission Against Corruption.
Mr Maguire told the inquiry on Thursday he spoke to Ms Berejiklian about his finances and his $1.5 million debt and "general problems I was having in life."
"I may have raised it [the debt], seeking some guidance and reassurance about, you know, what I was doing," he told the ICAC.
"I only have a few friends that you can raise those things with and I would have run it past her."
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and disgraced former Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire.Credit:Steven Siewert, James Brickwood
Mr Maguire said the two had discussed making their relationship public after his planned retirement around the 2019 election, conceding that they discussed his personal future and their potential future "in a relationship."
The inquiry heard on Thursday an extract of a private phone call with Ms Berejiklian, first played on Monday before Berejiklian, in which he said: "it looks like we finally got the Badgerys Creek stuff done... I'll make enough money to pay off my debts.. can you believe it?"
The Premier responded: "I can believe it."
Mr Maguire said he could not recall what he had told Ms Berejiklian specifically about his attempts to broker a $330 million land sale near Badgerys Creek. At the time he stood to gain up to $1.5 million if the sale went through.
A short time later the public inquiry turned private after a lengthy submission from counsel assisting Scott Robertson that he wished to examine Mr Maguire on matters, which "trespass on matters that ordinarily would be entirely private".
He said the content he wished to put to Mr Maguire significantly outweighed the public interest in ensuring his and Ms Berejiklian's privacy.
Earlier, Mr Maguire admitted that he was a direct line to government for property developers, including one who sought personal meetings with the Premier, the Transport Minister and the former planning minister.
Daryl Maguire in the ICAC witness box.Credit:ICAC
The watchdog is investigating whether Mr Maguire misused his position for his own financial benefit between 2012 and 2018.
His second day of testimony could decide the leadership of NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who continues to face pressure over revelations she was in a five-year relationship with the former MP.
The inquiry on Thursday heard a phone call in which Mr Maguire told developer and "mate" Jo Alha he would try to arrange a meeting with Transport Minister Andrew Constance.
"Can we have a meeting with him?" Mr Alha asked, seeking information about a proposal to move a train station.
"I'm gonna talk to him and see what's possible," Mr Maguire replied.
The former member for Wagga Wagga also took a "tipsy" Mr Alha to the office of Ms Berejiklian, who was Premier, for a "drop-in" in 2017.
The ICAC also heard extracts from letters written by Mr Maguire to then-planning minister Anthony Roberts seeking meetings on behalf of developers, including Mr Alha, for projects outside his electorate.
Property developer Jo Alha carrying a cardboard box of a model to a meeting with Daryl Maguire as seen in a photo submitted to the ICAC.Credit:ICAC
"I've assisted a number of developers," Mr Maguire told the ICAC, adding that he did it "out of friendship" in the case of Mr Alha.
At least once, Mr Roberts replied to Mr Maguire, confirming that a meeting had taken place and that the developer would be "kept fully informed".
Mr Maguire first rejected the assertion from counsel assisting Scott Robertson that he was "shortcutting" because "anyone can write to a member and seek the same thing as I did".
However, Mr Robertson suggested Mr Maguire was using the weight of his office to gain access in a way "someone off the street" could not.
"Yes, I agree," Mr Maguire said.
He also admitted he wrote the letters because he was also hoping to make money.
Mr Maguire appeared as a witness in the public inquiry for the first time on Wednesday, when he conceded that he used his position in Parliament to make money.
The former parliamentary secretary admitted several times that he turned his office into the part-time headquarters for a business network he silently directed called G8wayinternational Pty Ltd.
Thursday's examination heard Mr Maguire's recollection of a "drop-in" meeting in 2017 when he took Mr Alha into the Premier's office after a drinking session.
"Joe was insistent on saying hello ... he adores [Ms Berejiklian] and wanted to say hello. He just insisted," Mr Maguire said.
"We were there probably less than two minutes, niceties were spoken." He said no planning issues were discussed.
Mr Maguire said Mr Alha did not carry his development model to the Premier's office, nor a glass of wine, which Mr Alha suggested at an earlier hearing.
"I wouldn't let anyone walk around Parliament with a glass of red," he said.
"Or a glass of white," Mr Robertson quipped.
It followed another meeting the same afternoon with Mr Roberts' chief of staff Robert Vellar, in which Mr Alha presented a development model for an ailing project.
Mr Maguire made further admissions throughout the morning session, including that he acted as a "door opener" for the Shenzhen Asia Pacific Commercial Development Association, a network of Chinese business people of which he was the honorary chairman.
Lucy Cormack is a state political reporter with The Sydney Morning Herald.
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2020-10-15 01:49:00Z
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