She performed admirably in critical times,bringing NSW through fire,flood and pandemic. But her undoing was something she failed to do:dob in her secret lover and fellow MP Daryl Maguire to the Independent Commission Against Corruption when it became clear to her that he may be corrupt.
An ICAC report has found former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian acted corruptly.
The pair have both been found to have engaged in serious corrupt conduct after a two-year ICAC investigation. The corruption watchdog’s report,presented to NSW parliament on Thursday,did not recommend Berejiklian’s prosecution for any offence but said consideration should be given to obtaining the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions about the prosecution of Maguire and two of his business associates.
– beyond reasonable doubt – that Berejiklian had the criminal intent required to establish the offence of misconduct in public office. It meant prosecutors would be unable to prove an essential element of the crime in court.
The findings are damning for both – particularly Maguire. But Berejiklian’s fall is the coda to a trailblazing political career turned to dust because she allowed taxpayers’ money to pork barrel projects in Maguire’s electorate of Wagga Wagga without declaring a conflict of interest. Later,she turned a blind eye when she suspected his corruption.
Among the ICAC findings:Berejiklian breached public trust in 2016 and 2017 by exercising her official functions relating to $5.5 million awarded to the Australian Clay Target Association in Maguire’s electorate without disclosing her close personal relationship with the MP. She also partially exercised her official functions in 2018 in connection with millions of dollars in funding promised and awarded for a proposal to build a recital hall for the Riverina Conservatorium of Music. The conservatorium received $10 million. Berejiklian also made a $20 million funding reservation for a second stage of the proposal,but it was never paid.
TheHerald is a strong supporter of the ICAC and has defended it in the past against politically motivated attacks from the then Morrison government in Canberra. The ICAC has done good work with this Berejiklian/Maguire report. But it has been rightly criticised for the two years it took to report on the highly sensitive matter,a lengthy investigation that straddled a state election and undermined faith in the credibility of MPs.
Tellingly,the ICAC report sheets part of the blame for the delay home to the former premier,saying her behaviour was a factor:“The commission notes that due to the failure to promptly report suspected corrupt conduct ... the investigation was initiated through the work of ICAC officers. This made it necessary for the commission to exercise all of its coercive powers as the different layers of the investigation were discovered. Earlier reporting of suspected corruption could have prevented aspects of the conduct and shortened what became a complex,multi-stage investigation.”
There have been other lengthy corruption investigations over the years but,hopefully,the new ICAC chief commissioner,former Labor MP John Hatzistergos,will drive reforms that will make them a thing of the past.,on the eve of the Berejiklian/Maguire reports being presented to parliament,to force the watchdog to give itself deadlines for publishing reports of investigations is a good start.
Last August,the ICAC found that pork-barrelling in NSW could constitute corrupt conduct in certain circumstances. After generations of politicians rorting the system,Berejiklian’s fate should be a dramatic reminder to MPs that pork-barrelling is no longer acceptable. That is her epitaph.
A defiant Berejiklian on Thursday argued that she had “at all times I have worked my hardest in the public interest”. “Nothing in this report demonstrates otherwise,” she said in a statement.
TheHerald feels compelled to name this tactic for what it is:an attempt to reframe the debate and minimise scrutiny on the substance of the issue. Berejiklian deployed the same “look over there” PR strategy when the allegations first exploded in October 2020. Then,her argument was that she was merely unlucky in love. Today,her argument is that she is a very hard worker.
The ICAC investigation was never about determining whether Berejiklian worked hard. It was about how she used her position as an elected official. And on Thursday it clearly and rightly concluded that Berejiklian wasn’t always working in the public interest when it conflicted with her private interest.