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| Gladys Berejiklian loses legal challenge against Icac serious corrupt conduct finding | Gladys Berejiklian loses legal challenge against Icac serious corrupt conduct finding |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Former NSW premier sought review of corruption watchdog decision that she failed to declare a personal conflict of interest regarding two government grants | Former NSW premier sought review of corruption watchdog decision that she failed to declare a personal conflict of interest regarding two government grants |
| The former New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian has lost her legal challenge against an anti-corruption watchdog finding that she engaged in “serious corrupt conduct”. | The former New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian has lost her legal challenge against an anti-corruption watchdog finding that she engaged in “serious corrupt conduct”. |
| Berejiklian had argued the finding by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) was invalid because the commissioner was no longer at Icac when the findings were handed down. | Berejiklian had argued the finding by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) was invalid because the commissioner was no longer at Icac when the findings were handed down. |
| Berejiklian filed a summons for judicial review in the NSW court of appeal in September. A judicial review, unlike an appeal, is limited to legal missteps and cannot involve challenging the findings of fact. | Berejiklian filed a summons for judicial review in the NSW court of appeal in September. A judicial review, unlike an appeal, is limited to legal missteps and cannot involve challenging the findings of fact. |
| Andrew Bell, the NSW chief justice, read out brief orders on Friday morning dismissing the application. | |
| Bell said Friday’s decision – which dismissed the case with costs – was split two to one among the three presiding judges. | |
| He said justice Julie Ward took a different view on ground one of the amended summons. Bell said he would publish Ward’s view with the written judgment due later on Friday. | |
| Icac had initially been investigating former Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire – who was also found to have engaged in serious corrupt conduct. Maguire was alleged to have used his position to conduct a business helping property developers. | Icac had initially been investigating former Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire – who was also found to have engaged in serious corrupt conduct. Maguire was alleged to have used his position to conduct a business helping property developers. |
| After Berejiklian was heard on phone taps, she was called to give evidence at Icac and admitted she had been in a “close personal relationship” with Maguire for several years which she had not disclosed to colleagues or family. | After Berejiklian was heard on phone taps, she was called to give evidence at Icac and admitted she had been in a “close personal relationship” with Maguire for several years which she had not disclosed to colleagues or family. |
| Icac then investigated a number of grants she had been involved in approving for Wagga Wagga as well as her state of knowledge of Maguire’s business dealings. Berejiklian has maintained she served the public interest “at all times” while in office. | Icac then investigated a number of grants she had been involved in approving for Wagga Wagga as well as her state of knowledge of Maguire’s business dealings. Berejiklian has maintained she served the public interest “at all times” while in office. |
| In February, Berejkilian’s barrister Bret Walker SC told the court that viewing Berejikilian and Maguire’s relationships as a “standing potential for impropriety” was a “black, depressing and utterly unrealistic view of human life”. | In February, Berejkilian’s barrister Bret Walker SC told the court that viewing Berejikilian and Maguire’s relationships as a “standing potential for impropriety” was a “black, depressing and utterly unrealistic view of human life”. |
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| Icac’s 700-page report was handed down last August, nearly two years after the 2020 hearings. | |
| Ruth McColl, a former judge, was appointed an assistant commissioner of Icac to preside over the high-profile hearings but by 31 October 2022 – when her term was due to expire – she had not completed her report. | Ruth McColl, a former judge, was appointed an assistant commissioner of Icac to preside over the high-profile hearings but by 31 October 2022 – when her term was due to expire – she had not completed her report. |
| She was given an extension to work as a consultant from 1 November until she handed her report to the three-person commission in June 2023. | She was given an extension to work as a consultant from 1 November until she handed her report to the three-person commission in June 2023. |