A damning Valentine’s Day phone call from the former New South Wales premier’s ICAC probing has been uncovered.
The critical piece of evidence that found that Glady Berejiklian engaged in ‘corrupt conduct’, reveals a secret conversation between her and her partner, former Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire, as per ABC News.
According to the report, in the phone call, Maguire complains that his secret lover had been mean to him before telling her he was ‘the boss’.
“Yeh but I am the boss, even when you’re the premier,” Maguire told Berejiklian in an intercepted phone call on 14 February 2018.
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Berejiklian agreed with Maguire; however, she said that she finds it hard to reverse the roles in their personal lives due to her being the premier.
“So therefore it’s hard when I had to switch it around,” she said.
Maguire responded: “Glad[ys] even when you are the premier I am the boss alright.”
The report found that Berejiklian had breached the public trust in 2016 and 2017 by overseeing the awarding of a grant to the Australian Clay Target Association (ACTA) in Wagga Wagga without disclosing that she was in a relationship with Maguire.
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Maguire’s lobbying for the money also prompted it to be renamed the’ Maguire International Shooting Centre of Excellence’.
Similarly, Berejiklian was found to have acted corruptly in her dealings with a $10m grant for the Riverina Conservatorium of Music (RCM) in 2018, driven by her lover.
While the ICAC did not recommend criminal charges be launched against Berejiklian, the report said that Maguire should be hit with a list of criminal charges.
The report said that between 2012 and 2018, Macguire inappropriately used his office to benefit G8wayInternational Pty Ltd, where he served as director and profited from.
Shortly after the report was handed down, Berejiklian issued a statement, as per 9News.
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“Serving the people of NSW was an honour and privilege. At all times I have worked my hardest in the public interest. Nothing in this report demonstrates otherwise,” she said.
“Thank you to members of the public for their incredible support. This will sustain me always.
“The report is currently being examined by my legal team.”
Charisa Bossinakis