Ex-Liberal MP Daryl Maguire fights to avoid jail
Following a trial earlier this year, the former Liberal and Wagga Wagga MP was found guilty by a magistrate of one count of giving false or misleading evidence at a public inquiry.
Maguire will learn his fate when he fronts a Sydney court next week, with his legal team arguing he should be allowed to serve his sentence in the community.
Maguire pleaded not guilty, however Magistrate Clare Farnan found he gave knowingly misleading evidence to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in July 2018 about the potential sale of a property at Campsie in Sydney's south-west and whether he intended to be paid to broker the deal.
In 2016, ICAC began a probe into the Canterbury City Council under Operation Dasha.
During the ICAC hearing, Maguire was questioned whether he and former councillor Michael Hawatt were set to benefit financially if the site was sold to a Chinese developer.
The court was previously told that Maguire had an association with the company, Country Gardens 'through his extensive activities with members of the Chinese community, and through his travel to China'.
ICAC began lawfully tapping Mr Hawatt's phone in 2016.
Ms Farnan said in her findings handed down earlier this year that it was 'clear' that Maguire was 'pursuing Mr Hawatt's assistance in identifying possible development sites on behalf of a 'big developer'.'
The court was told that during a May 9, 2016 call, Maguire referred to a 'client' with 'mega money'.
The Crown prosecution argued Maguire intended to receive a benefit by introducing the property's owner, through Mr Hawatt, to the Chinese developer.
Maguire has claimed he was motivated by a friendship with an employee of Country Garden and did not expect a financial benefit.
However Ms Farnan found beyond a reasonable doubt that 'if the sale of the Harrisons site to Country Garden went through, Mr Maguire expected to receive half of Mr Hawatt's commission on that sale'.
His defence argued that some of the questions asked of him at the ICAC hearing were imprecise and open to interpretation.
But he was found to have given misleading evidence, and Ms Farnan dismissed the possibility that he may have given incorrect answers because of carelessness or misunderstanding.
'I am satisfied that … at the time of giving evidence, Mr Maguire did know that he had expected to share commission with Mr Hawatt, but had determined not to give that evidence before ICAC,' Ms Farnan found.
Maguire appeared before the Local Court on Friday, with Crown Prosecutor Phil Hogan arguing it was the 'will of the people' to 'eradicate corruption' and that there was an expectation of a 'significant period of fulltime custody for this type of offending'.
Mr Hogan told the court there was an expectation that people holding public offence would 'behave with honesty and integrity'.
The court heard Maguire never received a financial benefit, but Mr Hogan argued that didn't lessen the seriousness of the offending.
He likened the case to that of former Federal Court judge Marcus Einfeld, who was jailed for two years for making a false statement under oath and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
However, Maguire's barrister Rebecca Gall argued that his charges were not as serious as Einfeld's.
The court was told that Maguire had tendered a character reference from former deputy prime minister Michael McCormack which referred to his strong 'work ethic'.
Ms Gall also pointed to a report which assessed Maguire as being a low risk of reoffending as she argued that any sentence should be served in the community.
Maguire faces a maximum penalty of two years in jail when he is sentenced next Wednesday.
Maguire resigned from the Liberal Party as a result of the ICAC probe and later resigned from Parliament.
In 2021, the ICAC found that Mr Hawatt 'engaged in serious corrupt conduct'.
He was charged with two counts of giving false/misleading evidence at a public inquiry and is due to face court again in December.
A separate ICAC investigation revealed that Maguire had been in a secret relationship with then Premier Gladys Berejiklian.
In June 2023, the ICAC found that Maguire and Ms Berejiklian engaged in 'serious corrupt conduct.' No charges were brought against Ms Berejiklian.
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