A day on from the revelation (and subsequent apology) that NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian had a secret relationship with disgraced former state MP Daryl Maguire, people are still hungry for answers – but we didn’t get any.
At her daily morning press conference, journos absolutely grilled the Premier, particularly after she centered herself as the victim in the fallout of a potential corruption scandal.
When one reporter asked why Berejiklian didn’t act when Maguire was “clearly” lobbying developers, Berejiklian simply replied: “That’s all your opinion.”
“Had I known that any wrongdoing was occurring at any stage, I would not have hesitated to act,”
NSW Premier @GladysB has been grilled by the media over her secret affair with disgraced MP Daryl Maguire. #9News pic.twitter.com/r0DF0rWNwM
— 9News Sydney (@9NewsSyd) October 13, 2020
To a bunch of other questions, Berejiklian either pointed to yesterday’s apology or repeated the fact that she separated her personal life and her professional life.
It’s kind of a tricky argument to make when there’s such a huge conflict of interest going on.
When asked point-blank why she didn’t dob in Maguire when he spoke about his dealings to her back in 2018, Berejiklian deflected.
“I appreciate the difficult circumstances that have arisen but I also appreciate that at all stages, I did everything I had to do in relation to executing my job in public office,” she said.
In fact, the only yes or no answer we got was when someone asked if Maguire was Berejiklian’s informal spouse or defacto.
“No way, no way,” she said.
In the afternoon, Berejiklian fielded even more questions in state Parliament.
Opposition Leader Jodi McKay stressed that Berejiklian was obliged to make known the info Maguire told her in 2018.
“Given your legal obligation to report corruption under the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption act, why did you fail to report Darryl McGuire’s actions, despite knowing of his business dealings with property developers for six and a half years?” McKay asked.
#LIVE: NSW Premier @GladysB faces Parliament Question Time for the first time since her secret affair with disgraced MP Daryl Maguire was revealed at ICAC. #nswpol #9News https://t.co/olQgpKQDjz
— 9News Sydney (@9NewsSyd) October 13, 2020
Berejiklian began with a complete non-answer: “As I said, the Leader of the Opposition is entitled absolutely to ask me any question in this place regarding my activities as the Premier, because it is in the public interest for the public to know their Premier has at all times made sure that she or he has fulfilled their obligations in relation to all matters, whether it’s in the public interest…”
That’s when McKay interjected to call Berejiklian “delusional”.
“You think if you say it, it will be true,” McKay added before she was cut off by the Speaker of the House.
The screaming match got so wild inside the NSW Parliament that the transcribers simply wrote down “ruckus” at some points.
Yet through this ruckus we still don’t have answers.
