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Berejiklian lacks credibility

  • Berejiklian told ICAC she racked her brain to think whether she knew any information that would be relevant to the ICAC investigation into her secret lover, corrupt MP Daryl Maguire, but decided she didn’t.

    “The question I asked myself at length is, did I know anything that I could help with the Commission in their investigations? And the answer very strongly in my mind was I didn’t,” Berejiklian said.     Read article

     

  • It is difficult to believe Berejiklian's claim that she was unable to think of anything that could help the ICAC investigation.

    She was certain enough to tell Maguire the people he was dealing with were "dodgy". And on at least two occasions she told Maguire she did not need to know more about his business dealings - she was certain enough to know that she did not need to know any more.

    Why didn't she tell ICAC that?

    Why did she delete the "irregular" email from Louise Waterhouse. If she knew it was irregular then why didn't she report it to ICAC? Why did her office break the law by shredding the documents related to the pork barrelling scheme?

    See below for details and links to the relevant articles and ask yourself whether Berejiklian has acted with the highest level of integrity or whether she should answer to the courts.

Prosecution of former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian

In October 2021 NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian resigned after the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) revealed it was investigating whether she had been involved in “a breach of public trust” between 2012 and 2018.

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Despite making the decision to resign Berejiklian was defiant about her innocence "History will demonstrate I have executed my duties again with the highest level of integrity for the benefit of the people of NSW, for who I have had the privilege to serve" she said.

 

If she was truly innocent then why did she resign? It is reasonable to question why a politician would resign when they had done nothing wrong, especially one who in her own words, has acted "with the highest level of integrity".

 

The evidence below raises serious questions about Berejiklian's conduct. It is so contrary to acting with the highest level of integrity that it is difficult to understand how Berejiklian has avoided prosecution. Has there been a cover up? If so, who is responsible?

Berejikilian’s colleagues testified to ICAC that she should have disclosed her relationship with Maguire

  • Former NSW Premier Mike Baird testified that Berejiklian should have told him that she was dating Mr Maguire when she was the state's Treasurer and he was Premier. "Certainly I think it should have been disclosed … to myself as the premier' and that it was a 'potential conflict of interest,"  he said. Read article

     

  • Former NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro staunchly declared that Berejiklian should have declared her conflict of interest and that the process would have been handled differently if she had. Read article

     

  • Former deputy leader of the NSW Liberals Stuart Ayres has told the state's corruption watchdog it would have been "prudent" for Berejiklian to declare her relationship with former MP Daryl Maguire. Read article

Maguire discussed "dodgy" deals with Berejiklian, so why didn’t she report it?

  • Maguire testified to ICAC that he kept Berejiklian very closely informed about two dodgy grants for local organisations that he was pushing. Read article

     

  • Maguire resigned in 2018 after a separate ICAC inquiry revealed he had attempted to broker property deals and seek payments on behalf of a Chinese developer, but in October 2020 Berejiklian said that she had only cut off contact with him last month. Read article

     

  • Through a series of intercepted phone calls between Berejiklian and Maguire, ICAC learned Berejiklian knew that Maguire stood to make hundreds of thousands of dollars on a Badgerys Creek land deal that he lobbied her office to intervene in. Read article

     

  • Maguire told Berejiklian he could be implicated in an investigation into a Chinese property developer. Berejiklian told Maguire “I don’t want to know any of that stuff”, but Berejiklian then asked a series of questions about his involvement in the investigation, and told Maguire that she believed the developers involved in the inquiry were “dodgy”. Read article

Berejiklian had to have known enough - to know that she didn’t need to know any more - so why didn’t she report it?

  • ICAC phone taps between Maguire and Berejiklian, Maguire: “…good news. One of my contacts sold a motel for $5.8 million I had put her in contact so I should make $5k ”.

    Berejiklian: “Congrats!!! Great News!! Woo hoo.”

    In another, Maguire talks to the Premier, not for the first time, about his land deal at Badgerys Creek. Maguire: “William tells me we’ve done our deal so hopefully that’s about half of all that gone now,” Maguire was referring to the deal and paying his debts,

    Berejiklian: “that’s good”, pausing momentarily before adding: “I don’t need to know about that bit.” Maguire. “No you don’t … you do not.” Read article

     

  • ICAC heard Berejiklian had deleted an email from the racing heir Louise Waterhouse, on whose behalf Maguire was working while still an MP, after he handed over her direct email address. She admitted the email was “irregular”. Read article

     

  • When Maguire told Berejiklian that he stood to make a substantial amount of money on the potential land deal, the premier responded “I don’t need to know about that bit”.It was one of two occasions ICAC heard the premier tell Maguire she did not need to know certain information about his business dealings. Read article

Shocking evidence of pork barrelling by Berejiklian

  • In July 2018, in the lead up to the Wagga Wagga by-election, sparked by Maguire’s resignation over corruption claims, phone taps between Maguire and Berejiklian uncovered shocking evidence of pork barrelling.

    Maguire told Berejiklian to “throw money at Wagga”, Berejiklian replied  “I’ll throw money at Wagga, don’t you worry about that. Lots of it”.

    Berejiklian later said “Alright and I’ll throw money at Wagga. You just have to do what’s right from your end otherwise you’ll kill me."

    Maguire later said “You just need to know what the right things are to throw money at Wagga.” Berejiklian “I already know. You’ve already told me the three top things. I already know.”

    Maguire then told Berejiklian that the bureaucrats had knocked out the projects to which Berejiklian replied “Yes but I can overrule them.” A number of public servants testified at ICAC, questioning why their advice to scrap the Wagga projects had been overruled.     Watch video

“He does what I ask him to”: Berejiklian on Dominic Perrottet

  • In another call, Maguire rails against the lack of money for his electorate in the looming 2018 budget. He is particularly incensed at the lack of $170m for Wagga Wagga hospital.

    Berejiklian tells him “I’ll fix it”. Within two hours, she’s talked to the then treasurer Dominic Perrottet and the money is in the budget.

    Berejiklian says to Maguire: “I said, Just put the $140m in the budget. He goes, No worries. He does what I ask him to.”     Read article

Berejiklian admits to Pork barrelling, so why hasn't she been prosecuted for misconduct in public office?

  • “It’s not something the community likes ... but it’s an accusation I will wear,” she said. It’s not unique to our government,” Berejiklian said. Read article

     

  • The Ministerial Code of Conduct states that Berejiklian must act only in what she considers to be the public interest. Since she has admitted to pork barrelling, which is acting in the private interests of her party, then why hasn’t she been prosecuted for misconduct in public office? Read article

Berejiklian's office found to have broken the law by shredding documents related to the pork barrelling scheme

  • A day after Gladys Berejiklian’s staff were half-heartedly cleared by the information commissioner over the incident, the State Archives and Records Authority (SARA) has concluded rules were broken. Read article

     

  • Despite the State Archives and Records Authority (the ‘SARA’) finding that Ms Berejiklian’s office did act illegally, it decided not to refer the matter for prosecution. Read article

     

  • Justice Matters intends investigating who was responsible for the information commissioner Despite the State Archives and Records Authority (the ‘SARA’) finding that Ms Berejiklian’s office did act illegally, it decided not to refer the matter for prosecution. Read article

Berejiklian did not disclose a romantic relationship with corrupt former MP Daryl Maguire

  • Berejiklian denied that the relationship was of sufficient status to disclose, even though she was shown a text message she wrote to Maguire in April 2018, telling him: "You are my family". And she admitted that the pair were in love, had discussed marriage and having a child. Read article

Have government departments engaged in a cover up?

  • Justice Matters intends investigating who from the information commissioner was responsible for initially clearing Berejiklian's staff and who at the State Archives and Records Authority decided not to refer the matter for prosecution.

     

  • Justice Matters will also investigate why, as of February 2023, Gladys Berejiklian has not been prosecuted for any offence. Who is responsible and has there been a cover up?

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