ICAC has found Gladys Berejiklian acted corruptly while in office. Here's what happens to her now.

In September 2021, when COVID-19 was still wreaking havoc on her state, Gladys Berejiklian resigned as NSW Premier. 

It was a bombshell announcement that shocked many. But for others, they believed Berejiklian was on borrowed time in the top job. 

As for why, it all came down to a certain statement issued by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) that same week she resigned. The watchdog had announced it was conducting an investigation into whether Berejiklian was in a position of "conflict between her public duties and private interest".

It had emerged that this "conflict of interest" was related to a secret relationship she had been in with disgraced former Liberal MP Daryl Maguire.

In the almost two years since, we've seen an ICAC inquiry, countless media reports, opinion pieces, public commentary and more surrounding the former Premier. 

Today, the official ICAC report has been handed down. And in major news, it has confirmed there are "serious corrupt findings" against both Maguire and Berejiklian.

Watch: a look back at the moment Gladys Berejiklian resigned as NSW Premier. Post continues below.

Here's everything we know. 

What did the ICAC look into regarding Gladys Berejiklian?

ICAC is an independent body that investigates allegations of corruption in the NSW public sector.

The watchdog considered whether Berejiklian had breached public trust by exercising her public functions when there was a conflict with her private life – and whether she turned a blind eye to conduct which was alleged in ICAC to be corrupt.

What did the ICAC inquiry have to do with Daryl Maguire?

This ICAC inquiry looked into whether both Maguire and Berejiklian had engaged in corrupt conduct.

For context, former Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire and Berejiklian were in a "close, personal relationship" for five years, beginning in March 2015. Berejiklian has repeatedly insisted the relationship was not of "sufficient status" to warrant declaration.

During the inquiry, the former couple said they had contemplated marriage and children, holidayed together, and Maguire once had a key to Berejiklian's house.

ICAC investigated whether Berejiklian breached public trust when she awarded grants to several community organisations in the NSW Riverina region. 

At the centre of the inquiry were two multi-million dollar grants. There was a $5.5 million grant awarded to Australian Clay Target Association in 2017 from a fund overseen by Berejiklian who was then the NSW Treasurer. The other was a $20 million grant for the Riverina Conservatorium of Music in 2018.

The potential problem here is that during that time, Maguire was the Member for Wagga Wagga — the constituency benefiting from those sizeable grants.

This is not the first time Maguire has faced allegations and instances of corruption.

Daryl Maguire. Image: AAP.

He resigned from Parliament in 2018 after he admitted that he had sought payment to broker a deal with property developers. At the time, Berejiklian publicly condemned Maguire and asked him to resign, despite being in a relationship with him (unbeknownst to the public). 

Court documents also state Maguire allegedly conspired in a migration scheme. This week he was charged with giving false and misleading evidence to the New South Wales anti-corruption watchdog.

What has Gladys Berejiklian had to say?

When Berejiklian announced her resignation, she said: "I state categorically, I have always acted with the highest level of integrity. History will demonstrate that I have always executed my duties with the highest degree of integrity for the benefit of the people of NSW who I have had the privilege to serve."

Berejiklian said she had not engaged in corrupt conduct but had fallen victim to a 'deadbeat' boyfriend.

"I stuffed up in my personal life and I accept that," she said. "I've done nothing wrong."

She even did a profile interview with the Sunday Telegraph, saying: "I've given up on love... I trusted him. Around the traps, he was a generally likeable person, down to earth... I have been [married to the job] and I don't mind that, it's the truth. As corny as it is, it's not really the job … it's the public service. Serving the public is what I love to do."

You can listen to the full interview with Gladys Berejiklian on No Filter here. Post continues after audio.

In an interview on Mamamia's No Filter podcast, Berejiklian shared what it was like behind the scenes when her former relationship became known to the public.

"It was a nightmare because a lot of things that were said or asserted weren't even true," she said. "But you just have to deal with what is thrown at you, and for me, the most important thing was not losing focus of what I had to do every day."

Berejiklian was the third NSW premier to resign as a result of an ICAC investigation.

ICAC hands down "serious corrupt findings".

On June 29, 2023, ICAC handed down its report, confirming there are "serious corrupt findings" against both Maguire and Berejiklian.

Specifically for Berejiklian, the NSW corruption watchdog found Berejiklian acted corruptly while in the five-year relationship with the disgraced Liberal MP.

ICAC found Berejiklian "engaged in serious corrupt conduct by breaching public trust in 2016 and 2017 through exercising her official functions in relation to funding promised and/or awarded" to the Wagga Wagga-based Australian Clay Target Association.

"(She did so) without disclosing her close personal relationship with Mr Maguire, when she was in a position of a conflict of interest between her public duty and her private interest, which could objectively have the potential to influence the performance of her public duty," ICAC found.

Berejiklian again engaged in serious corrupt conduct in relation to the Riverina Conservatorium of Music, another project advanced by Maguire, ICAC said.

Berejiklian's failure to report suspicions about her then-partner Maguire to the watchdog constituted "grave misconduct", as well. ICAC said this decision undermined the standards set out in the Ministerial Code of Conduct, which she substantially administered as the premier.

Additional findings and evidence of corruption will be extrapolated from the report over the next few days, given the sheer size of the report handed down. 

What does this mean for Gladys Berejiklian?

ICAC has confirmed it will not refer Berejiklian to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

This means they do not recommend charges be laid against Berejiklian. After quitting office, she turned down an opportunity to run for federal parliament and moved into the private sector as an Optus executive.

How about Daryl Maguire?

As for Maguire, he has been referred for possible misconduct in public office charges, after numerous findings that he also engaged in serious misconduct between 2012 and 2018 and improperly used his office as an MP.

"He also misused his role as an MP to advance his own financial interests, as well as the commercial interests of his associates, in connection with an immigration scheme that he promoted to his constituents and others connected with his electoral district," ICAC said.

Has Gladys Berejiklian reacted to the findings that say she acted corruptly?

So far, Berejiklian is yet to comment on the findings that she engaged in corrupt conduct and breached public trust. A statement from her is expected shortly.

Some of her former political allies have since spoken out. 

NSW Liberal MP Matt Kean called it "a ridiculous display", saying ICAC turned "a corruption report into a live TV event at Parliament House".

Members from both sides of politics have also condemned the nature of the ICAC investigation. They have criticised specifically the timing of when it was launched amid the height of a COVID-19 outbreak in NSW, as well as criticising how long it took for the findings to be delivered. 

NSW Premier Chris Minns said today: "I do want to make the point that it's been two years since the public inquiry took place in Sydney, in New South Wales, for the findings to be released and if you're an official or a public servant that is a subject of an inquiry, to hold your life effectively up for years and years is just too long."

He also noted his support for ICAC and making sure corruption as a whole is stamped out in politics – regardless of which political party the corruption stems from.

What's for certain is that Berejiklian was considered one of NSW's most popular politicians. With the findings from ICAC now in hand, many are left wondering whether her once-shiny reputation has been dented for good.

With AAP.

Feature Image: AAP/Mamamia.