logo
Fallen MP Daryl Maguire jailed for lying to ICAC

Fallen MP Daryl Maguire jailed for lying to ICAC

Former NSW Liberal MP Daryl Maguire has been sentenced to jail after giving misleading evidence to the corruption watchdog about a multimillion-dollar Sydney property and the benefits he expected to receive.
The former member for Wagga Wagga, half of the 'love circle' that cost Gladys Berejiklian her premiership, fronted up to Central Local Court after being found guilty of lying to the Independent Commission Against Corruption 's 2018 probe into Canterbury Council.
Magistrate Clare Farnan on Tuesday sentenced Maguire to 10 months in prison.
'The misleading evidence was given deliberately while Mr Maguire was the sitting member of parliament... he has not demonstrated any remorse and maintains his innocence,' Farnan said.
'A significant sentence is required to deter others who might give misleading evidence to the ICAC.
'A term of imprisonment is required.'
Magistrate Farnan ordered Maguire to stand in the court and said he would serve five months, until 19 January 2026, without parole.
Maguire nodded and sat down, clasping his hands as his lawyer said he would lodge an appeal. He was led from the room by NSW Corrections officers into a subterranean cell.
Operation Dasha, as the ICAC investigation was known, forced Maguire to resign after phone taps captured him speaking to then-Canterbury councillor Michael Hawatt about the potential sale of a 300-unit site in Campsie for Chinese company Country Garden to buy and develop in May 2016.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

ICAC's big day out: Former mayor charged over misleading evidence
ICAC's big day out: Former mayor charged over misleading evidence

The Age

time2 hours ago

  • The Age

ICAC's big day out: Former mayor charged over misleading evidence

Say what you like about the Independent Commission Against Corruption – it works too quickly/too slowly, it's too secretive/too public, it's a kangaroo court/a bastion of our democracy – the one thing you can't accuse our state's top corruption warriors of is lying low. On Wednesday, the ICAC played a central role in Sydney's news cycle. The commission's big day in the spotlight started early: just after 7am, Eddie Obeid – the corrupt former Labor MP who was brought down after an extensive ICAC investigation found him guilty of misconduct in public office – plodded out of jail. Hours after he walked free, another ICAC victim was heading inside: Daryl Maguire, that bad boy regional MP whose relationship with former premier Gladys Berejiklian was revealed when the commission played tapped phone calls between the pair, was sentenced to 10 months in prison for misleading a corruption inquiry. He was swiftly released on bail. But the agency's sting doesn't stop there: CBD now brings you news that Bill Saravinovski, the former mayor of Bayside Council in Sydney's south, has been hit with three charges of giving misleading evidence to the commission. The ICAC quietly uploaded a document to its website late last week that provides some detail on Operation Aspen: it investigated allegations Saravinovski and others 'inappropriately or partially shared or disclosed confidential information to property developers' and that he supported an unsolicited development proposal from a property developer. It was decided, according to the document, to refer the matter to the Office of Local Government. A court found him guilty of misconduct after he berated council staff over the development of a car park where he failed to correctly declare a conflict of interest. While that occurred, the Director of Public Prosecutions was considering a request from the agency about whether there was sufficient evidence to charge him with three offences for giving misleading information during the investigation. Last week the DPP acted, laying three charges that are yet to be tested in court – he'll visit the Downing Centre late next month.

ICAC's big day out: Former mayor charged over misleading evidence
ICAC's big day out: Former mayor charged over misleading evidence

Sydney Morning Herald

time2 hours ago

  • Sydney Morning Herald

ICAC's big day out: Former mayor charged over misleading evidence

Say what you like about the Independent Commission Against Corruption – it works too quickly/too slowly, it's too secretive/too public, it's a kangaroo court/a bastion of our democracy – the one thing you can't accuse our state's top corruption warriors of is lying low. On Wednesday, the ICAC played a central role in Sydney's news cycle. The commission's big day in the spotlight started early: just after 7am, Eddie Obeid – the corrupt former Labor MP who was brought down after an extensive ICAC investigation found him guilty of misconduct in public office – plodded out of jail. Hours after he walked free, another ICAC victim was heading inside: Daryl Maguire, that bad boy regional MP whose relationship with former premier Gladys Berejiklian was revealed when the commission played tapped phone calls between the pair, was sentenced to 10 months in prison for misleading a corruption inquiry. He was swiftly released on bail. But the agency's sting doesn't stop there: CBD now brings you news that Bill Saravinovski, the former mayor of Bayside Council in Sydney's south, has been hit with three charges of giving misleading evidence to the commission. The ICAC quietly uploaded a document to its website late last week that provides some detail on Operation Aspen: it investigated allegations Saravinovski and others 'inappropriately or partially shared or disclosed confidential information to property developers' and that he supported an unsolicited development proposal from a property developer. It was decided, according to the document, to refer the matter to the Office of Local Government. A court found him guilty of misconduct after he berated council staff over the development of a car park where he failed to correctly declare a conflict of interest. While that occurred, the Director of Public Prosecutions was considering a request from the agency about whether there was sufficient evidence to charge him with three offences for giving misleading information during the investigation. Last week the DPP acted, laying three charges that are yet to be tested in court – he'll visit the Downing Centre late next month.

Coalition divided over Benjamin Netanyahu's ‘incendiary' letter attacking Anthony Albanese for 'weakness' on antisemitism
Coalition divided over Benjamin Netanyahu's ‘incendiary' letter attacking Anthony Albanese for 'weakness' on antisemitism

Sky News AU

time2 hours ago

  • Sky News AU

Coalition divided over Benjamin Netanyahu's ‘incendiary' letter attacking Anthony Albanese for 'weakness' on antisemitism

Two senior Coalition MPs have provided starkly different responses to Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu's extraordinary letter attacking Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Relations between Israel and Australia plunged to a new low on Wednesday after it emerged Mr Netanyahu had written to Mr Albanese accusing him of pouring fuel on the fire of antisemitism and claiming the decision to recognise a Palestinian state 'rewards Hamas terror' and 'emboldens those who menace Australian Jews'. While the Australian Prime Minister has stressed the need for 'respect' among world leaders, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke hit back, telling ABC RN: 'Strength is not measured by how many people you can blow up, or how many children you can leave hungry'. The war of words has also unearthed division among the Coalition, with two front bench Liberal Senators providing completely different answers about who they thought was to blame for the state of the relationship. Liberal Senator Dave Sharma, Australia's former ambassador to Israel, said the relationship between the two countries was 'in the worst shape' he had ever seen. 'I think when you've got leaders trading blows and insults and criticisms in public, I think that shows you the depths to which we've plunged,' he told Sky News Australia. However, the New South Wales Liberal Senator said 'both sides are to blame' for the situation. 'Both sides carry some amount of the blame. I don't think this is the right way for Prime Minister Netanyahu to express himself, to write a letter which is intended to be made public, and to throw around some quite incendiary charges, as he has,' he said. 'But by the same token, Australian Ministers, including Tony Burke just this morning, have been far too ill-disciplined in their use of language and the sort of charges that they've levelled against Israel as well. 'I think what we're seeing is a consequence of actions from both sides.' Senator Sharma's comments came in stark contrast to the position of shadow foreign minister Michaelia Cash, who just minutes earlier had doubled down on Mr Netanyahu's claim Mr Albanese was a weak politician who is appeasing terrorists. 'The direct evidence is there. Mr Albanese has indeed rewarded the terrorist Hamas who butchered and slaughtered Israelis on October the 7th, 2023. In fact, he's given them what they themselves have described as the fruits of October 7,' Senator Cash told Sky News Australia. 'Israel is a democratic nation that is fighting for its very existence against terrorists whose sole aim is to wipe them off the planet, and yet, the same terrorists are actually delighting in what our Prime Minister is saying." The shadow foreign minister said there was a very simple principle: 'You don't reward terrorists, and that is exactly what our Prime Minister, Mr Albanese, has done. It is a disgrace'. Senator Cash then went further, adding that Hamas would 'certainly welcome the comments by the Home Affairs Minister (Tony Burke)'. 'They were disgusting, they were deplorable, they were reckless and quite frankly, they have done nothing to calm the fears of the Jewish community in Australia in relation to the rising antisemitism," she said. 'He has said, on the record now, that Israel, a democratic ally that it's fighting for its life against terrorists whose one objective in life is to wipe them off the face of this earth… measure their strength by the number of people that they kill and the number children that they starve. That is just an absolute disgrace.' Sky News host Sharri Markson strongly pushed back on Senator Sharma's claim both the Australian and Israeli governments were to blame for the state of the relationship, but the former ambassador turned Liberal Senator said the Albanese government had not tried to interfere in Israel's domestic politics in the way Mr Netanyahu was attempting to do. 'I think certainly this government has changed our policy approach towards Israel in ways that I fundamentally disagree with and ways that I think are not in the national interest,' he said. 'But by the same token, I don't think they have gone out of their way to intervene, if you like, in Israeli domestic politics. This is a pretty clear attempt by Netanyahu to intervene in Australian domestic politics. 'You've already seen the reaction from organised parts of the Australian Jewish community, saying they find this incredibly unhelpful, and I think it's going to make the position of the Jewish community – it's going to compromise that position further. 'I don't think that's Netanyahu's intention, but I think it's certainly going to be the result.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store