Disgraced former Liberal politician Daryl Maguire has admitted that he used his position as an MP and parliamentary secretary to make money for himself and his associates.
The former member for Wagga Wagga told a corruption inquiry he turned his Parliament House office into the part-time headquarters for a private business network he silently directed called G8wayinternational Pty Ltd.
It is the first time Mr Maguire has been called to give evidence at a public probe investigating whether he misused his office for his own financial gain by claiming to offer access to government between 2012 and 2018.
After more than three weeks of public hearings — which have included bombshell revelations that Mr Maguire was in a secret five-year relationship with Premier Gladys Berejiklian — the commission heard from the man himself about the cash, associates, and failed ventures he has been linked to in the inquiry so far.
Wearing a dark grey suit and tie, Mr Maguire began his evidence shortly after 10am, offering succinct admissions to questions posed by counsel assisting the commission, Scott Robertson.
"While you were a member of Parliament you used your office in Parliament House... to pursue your own business interests?" "Yes."
Gladys Berejiklian and former MP Daryl Maguire were in a secret relationship for five years.Credit:AAP, Janie Barrett
"Do you agree that on more than one occasion, you received deliveries in your Parliament House office of thousands of dollars in cash associated with a scheme involving the obtaining of Australian visas for Chinese nationals?" "Yes."
"You understood at the time that you weren't permitted to use your Parliament House office... that G8wayinternational [was] a vehicle through which you sought to make personal profits?" "Yes."
Mr Maguire never declared any interest or income from the organisation. He said the business was designed to "help exporters export [and] to help importers import".
The inquiry has previously heard extracts from phone taps, emails and documents revealing Mr Maguire was seeking to set himself up for life in retirement and saw G8wayinternational as the way to do that.
On its website G8wayinternational advertised experience and access to "high levels of government," which Mr Maguire eventually agreed was a reference to him.
"It would have to be me."
Wine, steel, cotton and milk powder were just some of the failed ventures he explored through the business, as well as an aeroplane pilot school, a trade showroom in China, a coal mine, a gold mine, a tin mine and "even an automatic car wash," the ICAC heard on Wednesday.
The commission heard Mr Maguire's recollection of a lunch at Parliament House that was planned to celebrate the signing of an agreement between Wagga Wagga City Council and a Chinese delegation to build a $400 million trade centre.
It followed a "memorandum of understanding" signing event, which was briefly attended by then-premier Barry O'Farrell in November 2012, at Mr Maguire's request.
The ICAC has heard Mr Maguire arranged for a G8wayinternational invoice to be sent to the delegation to pay parliamentary services for the lunch.
Asked why the delegation was sent a G8wayinternational invoice, Mr Maguire said it would have been "totally improper for the Parliament, me hosting the event, to provide an invoice to that group."
He said: "All I recall, is that there was a big kerfuffle about getting paid. And then an invoice had to be created... I can't recall how it came about."
Mr Robertson asked Mr Maguire if any his parliamentary staff, who assisted with the business of G8wayinternational, ever charged a fee for an introduction to a NSW minister of government nominee.
"Not with my authority they didn't," he said, adding that he "absolutely" would have refused that if he was asked, because "that would be going too far."
Mr Robertson proceeded to ask him about a tendered invoice which listed an "introductory service fee".
The former MP said he did not recall seeing the invoice before Wednesday.
The inquiry continues.
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Lucy Cormack is a state political reporter with The Sydney Morning Herald.
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2020-10-14 01:22:00Z
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