Daryl Maguire ‘over-reached’ but was trusted by Gladys Berejiklian:ICAC

Disgraced former Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire “over-reached” as a backbencher but was trusted by ex-premier Gladys Berejiklian,a corruption inquiry has heard.

NSW bureaucrat Gary Barnes told the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) that he understood Ms Berejiklian highly regarded Mr Maguire and sought his counsel as a Liberal from the bush.

The Regional NSW department secretary said Mr Maguire,who will front the ICAC on Thursday,regularly hassled the former premier’s office around 2017,when a controversial grant application was being considered for a Wagga Wagga gun club.

The $5.5 million grant is one of two for which Mr Maguire heavily lobbied while he was in a secret relationship with Ms Berejiklian,as treasurer and later premier.

Department of Regional NSW secretary Gary Barnes,right,outside the ICAC on Wednesday. Mr Barnes is not accused of wrongdoing.

Department of Regional NSW secretary Gary Barnes,right,outside the ICAC on Wednesday. Mr Barnes is not accused of wrongdoing.Janie Barrett

The grants are at the centre of the inquiry into whether Ms Berejiklian breached public trust or encouraged corrupt conduct during her relationship with Mr Maguire.

Ms Berejiklian is yet to give evidence to the inquiry but has denied all wrongdoing.

Mr Barnes was among the senior bureaucrats who handled the grants at the centre of the probe in liaison with the offices of Ms Berejiklian and then deputy premier John Barilaro.

He recalled a conversation he had in early 2017 with a staffer of Mr Barilaro,from which he gleaned:“Mr Maguire was well regarded by the premier and I think they used the term that Mr Maguire had her ear”.

Former Premier Gladys Berejiklian leaves home last week. She is expected to give evidence on Friday.

Former Premier Gladys Berejiklian leaves home last week. She is expected to give evidence on Friday.Nick Moir

The bureaucrat said he believed Ms Berejiklian had a particular interest in the gun club project,in which Mr Maguire had an obvious interest.

He thought Mr Maguire,one of a handful of regional Liberal MPs,was regarded by the premier as someone who “understood the bush”.

“If Mr Maguire was someone that she trusted and had sought his advice on different things,then he may well be speaking to her directly about this project,” he said.

The ICAC previously heard that the state government paid $40,000 for a business case to help the Australia Clay Target Association apply for a multi-million dollar grant to upgrade its facilities.

Former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro has told the ICAC inquiry Gladys Berejiklian should have disclosed her relationship with then-MP Daryl Maguire.

While that business case was deemed insufficient,$5.5 million was still approved,although it was conditional on another satisfactory business case.

Mr Barnes told the commission that the government agreed to pay another $26,950 to external consultants to update the business case.

Multiple bureaucrats have told the inquiry they had concerns about the project,but said it appeared to have the political backing of the government because it had been approved by the expenditure review committee,then chaired by Ms Berejiklian as treasurer.

The project also bypassed a competitive “two-step” process that usually applied to the fund that issued the grant,the ICAC heard on Wednesday.

The commission is also examining an unsolicited grant proposal from the Riverina Conservatorium of Music in 2018,which Mr Barnes said included a “very lavish recital hall” he did not think would be in the public interest.

He said it was problematic when Mr Maguire published an inaccurate media release in February 2018 announcing a “world-class music recital space” and “permanent new home” for the conservatorium,before a funding decision had been made.

“It came from a backbencher that seems to have over-reached,” he said. “I think it would potentially put more pressure on government rather than the public servants”.

About $10 million was eventually approved to relocate the conservatorium from Charles Sturt University to a government-owned site,while a further $20 million for a recital hall was promised during the Wagga Wagga byelection.

The byelection was triggered by Mr Maguire’s resignation after he was disgraced during another ICAC inquiry.

Mr Barnes said his department at the time believed the recital hall project did not “stack up” and questioned the need for such a venue in Wagga Wagga.

“Whether I think it’s in the public interest or not,government needs to make those calls,” he said.

“It’s the domain of the political masters that make decisions[about] what they believe are good election commitments.”

Despite the byelection promise in 2018,deficiencies in the project’s business plan mean no money has yet been awarded.

Our Breaking News Alertwillnotify you of significant breaking news when it happens.Get it here.

Lucy Cormack is a journalist for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age,based in Dubai.

Most Viewed in Politics