Daryl Maguire was found to have given misleading evidence at the Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac). Photo / Dylan Robinson
Daryl Maguire was found to have given misleading evidence at the Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac). Photo / Dylan Robinson
Disgraced ex-MP Daryl Maguire has been jailed after he was found guilty of giving misleading evidence to an anti-corruption inquiry in Australia.
Maguire, 66, appeared in the Sydney Central District Court on Wednesday, dressed neatly in a suit and tie, after he was found guilty by a magistrate in Juneof one count of giving false or misleading evidence at a public inquiry.
The former Wagga Wagga MP had pleaded not guilty to the charge, which related to his evidence before the Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) in July 2018.
On Wednesday, Magistrate Clare Farnan sentenced him to a 10-month jail term.
He was soon put in handcuffs and taken into custody.
Daryl Maguire is the ex-boyfriend of former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian. Photo / Getty Images
Farnan said Maguire was “clearly trying to protect his reputation, among other things”.
“The community is entitled to expect that those who hold power will conduct themselves with integrity,” she said.
Maguire has maintained his innocence, saying he answered the Icac questions to the best of his ability.
He is expected to file an appeal, with the court expected to resume on Wednesday morning before the magistrate to hear details of the appeal.
Farnan said Maguire had displayed no remorse for his actions, though he had no history of similar offending, and his likelihood of reoffending remained low.
“The need for general deterrence does require a period of full-time imprisonment,” she said.
While a 12-month stint behind bars was initially to be ordered, Maguire was offered a two-month discount because of delays in the court proceedings.
Farnan also took into account the impact of “significant media interest” in the case on the 66-year-old’s mental health.
Maguire, eligible for parole in January, plans to appeal the conviction. Photo / Jeremy Piper, NewsWire,
The small courtroom was packed with members of the media on Wednesday, who watched on closely as Maguire was taken into custody.
During the Icac probe, Maguire denied asking to receive a financial benefit for brokering a property deal in the Sydney suburb of Canterbury.
However, in recorded phone conversations, the former MP admitted he had asked for a slice of the profits if the multimillion-dollar deal with a Chinese developer was finalised.
Maguire was found guilty of the charge in June.
The former Wagga Wagga MP resigned from the New South Wales Parliament in 2018 after Icac launched a separate investigation into his conduct while in office.
The inquiry revealed he had been in a secret five-year “close personal relationship” with ex-Premier Gladys Berejiklian.
She resigned from her position in September 2021 after Icac announced it would investigate whether she breached the ministerial code of conduct.
The commission found in July 2023 that both Maguire and Berejiklian engaged in serious corrupt conduct.
