AS EXPLOSIVE details continue to be revealed in a corruption inquiry investigating former Wagga MP Daryl Maguire, Leeton has been drawn into the matter.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Independent Commission Against Corruption inquiry has heard claims that Mr Maguire was given a $1400 cheque and had all-expenses paid for a trip to China on behalf of a Leeton-based export business.
ICAC is investigating allegations that Mr Maguire used his public office for personal gain between 2012 and 2018.
United World Enterprises (UWE) managing director Jimmy Liu told the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) last week that Mr Maguire helped him try to find an alternate investor when a Chinese company pulled out of a Leeton and Griffith joint venture.
RELATED:
UWE Pty Ltd was an operation that sourced oaten hay from the Leeton region and exported it to China, Japan and Korea during the drought.
The Leeton enterprise ceased operating in 2018.
The hearing continued this week with NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian admitting she had had a "personal relationship" with Mr Maguire, but also told the commission she "didn't know what UWE was".
Member for Murray Helen Dalton has questioned why Mr Maguire was "involved" in these dealings in an area that wasn't part of his electorate.
She has also called on the NSW Premier to resign following her admission of the private relationship with Mr Maguire.
"On Monday, the Premier told the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) she 'did not know what UWE was'," Mrs Dalton said.
"ICAC then played private phone conversations of the Premier discussing UWE dealings with Mr Maguire.
"In my opinion, this is highly inappropriate.
"UWE is based in my electorate, near Leeton.
"Why was Daryl, the Wagga MP, doing (alleged) deals here on their behalf?"
Why was Daryl, the Wagga MP, doing deals here on their behalf?
- Member for Murray Helen Dalton
Mrs Dalton said the Premier had the "opportunity to tell him not to go to China on this trip, but did not".
"The Premier should have come clean on these dealings many years ago. She did not. We cannot trust her," Mrs Dalton said.
The ICAC hearing has heard from Mr Maguire's solicitor who said his client had never asked for, nor was offered, a personal benefit from a business deal.
Mrs Dalton said the ordeal shone a broader spotlight on the lack of transparency around foreign ownership and conflict of interests.
MORE NEWS:
"Foreign companies are allowed to buy as much farmland and water as they want, and there is little attempt to explain how this is in our national interest," Mrs Dalton said.
"I recently tried to create a public register listing all foreign companies and politicians who own our water.
"The Liberals and Nationals voted it down."