For the New South Wales Liberal Party, Love (for Property Developers) Is Blind
Liberal premier Gladys Berejiklian may be the latest casualty in a series of corruption scandals that have rocked the Australian state of New South Wales. The recurrent scandals stem from deeply entrenched corruption in Sydney that gives property developers free reign.
The NSW Legistative Assembly questions Premier Gladys Berejiklian on what she knew about the business dealings of Daryl Maguire. (Steven Siewert / Getty Images)
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has recently heard intercepted phone calls between New South Wales (NSW) premier Gladys Berejiklian and now-disgraced Daryl Maguire, formerly state MP for Wagga Wagga.
In 2017, Maguire was busy “greasing the wheels” to expediate the sale of a $330 million block of land to property developers in exchange for commission payments of almost $700,000. The purchase was, however, contingent on the land being rezoned, to make way for commercial development. Fortunately for Maguire, he was then involved in a secret affair with Berejiklian, whose government had the final say over zoning.
As the ICAC has heard, Maguire spoke to the premier over the phone, boasting that he had finally sealed the deal, and that he would “make enough money to pay off my debts.”
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