Gladys Berejiklian ICAC Findings LIVE: Watchdog Reveals Operation Keppel, Daryl Maguire Findings

Gladys Berejiklian declined to answer questions Thursday morning as the commission that exposed her secret love life at the height of her popularity prepares to release its report on the former NSW prime minister’s relationship with an ex-MP.

She left her home in a car clutching a $5,500 Prada bag on a historic day for her and Australian politics.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) will present its long-awaited report in NSW Parliament on Thursday morning, more than 600 days after the end of public hearings.

The report is expected to be published online a few minutes later.

ICAC had investigated whether Ms Berejiklian had betrayed public trust by not disclosing her long-standing personal relationship with then MP Daryl Maguire as Treasurer and Prime Minister.

That clandestine relationship became public knowledge 990 days ago, when Ms Berejiklian admitted it in October 2020 at an ICAC hearing.

Ms Berejiklian (pictured right) and her lawyer boyfriend Arthur Moses (left) were pictured holding hands on an early morning walk in activewear last weekend

The commission’s inquiry began as an investigation into possible corrupt behavior by Mr Maguire but expanded to include Ms Berejiklian after she was forced to reveal the relationship during public hearings in 2020.

She denied wrongdoing and kept her position, but stepped down when ICAC began investigating her conduct in late 2021.

Even after the relationship came to light, Ms. Berejiklian had wide public support, with a net approval rating of over 35 percent.

After leaving office in October 2021, she turned down a chance to run for federal parliament and moved to the private sector as an Optus executive.

Delays in the publication of the ICAC report to Ms Berejiklian and Ms Maguire have been criticized.

Her date with the ICAC lot seemed far from Ms Berejiklian’s mind when she was pictured last Saturday touching up her make-up at a cafe table

The couple wore matching dark caps and designer sunglasses. Mr. Moses is pictured on the left and Mrs. Berejiklian is pictured on the right

The committee has said delays were caused by complex legal issues and the sheer number of submissions it had to examine.

It has repeatedly asked for delays and more money to complete its investigations.

The NSW Labor government on Wednesday backed a parliamentary committee’s call for ICAC to set deadlines for future inquiries and gauge their performance.

“(The amendments) will increase the transparency and public accountability of ICAC’s reporting functions without imposing rigid restrictions on ICAC,” the government said.

Sitting in a cafe on Sydney’s leafy north coast, Mr Moses at one point reached over the couple’s food while Ms Berejiklian checked her phone

Who is Daryl Maguire and what was his relationship with former NSW Prime Minister Gladys Berejiklian?

Daryl Maguire, 64, is a former Liberal MP who represented Wagga Wagga in the NSW Parliament from 1999 to 2018.

In July 2018, he was implicated by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in the Operation Dasha investigation into possible corruption involving Canterbury Council through his collaboration with former Councilor Michael Hawatt.

Gladys Berejiklian and Daryl Maguire (behind) with whom she had a secret relationship for many years

Mr Maguire resigned from the Liberal Party and from his official positions, but initially refused to resign from Parliament.

But after pressure from many quarters, including then Prime Minister Gladys Berejiklian, he relented and resigned on August 3.

Appearing before the ICAC inquiry in October 2020, Ms Berejiklian admitted that she had a “close personal relationship” with Mr Maguire from 2015 to August 2020.

She survived that revelation, but resigned as Prime Minister and Member of Parliament a year later when she herself came under the ICAC spotlight.

On Friday 29th October 2021, Ms Berejiklian said the following about Mr Maguire: ‘I considered him part of my love circle, part of the people I care deeply about, but I wouldn’t have put him in the same category. like my parents or my sisters.

“I had very strong feelings for him. . . But I didn’t feel the relationship was at a stage where I would necessarily introduce it to my parents or my sisters or explain it, but I don’t want to underline what I felt.”