Operation Keppel ICAC report into Gladys Berejiklian to be tabled after two year wait

Former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has been spotted leaving home ahead of the release of a report from the corruption watchdog, ending a near three-year saga. Ms Berejiklian emerged from her Northbridge home in Sydney’s north on Thursday morning with a strained smile on her face, swiftly bypassing a media pack stationed out the front, before getting into her car. She did not answer any questions or give a statement about the probe. The ex-politican was pushed into the harsh glare of the Independent Commission Against Corruption’s (ICAC) Operation Keppel after revelations of her five-year secret relationship with disgraced ex Wagga Wagga MP, Daryl Maguire. In October 2021, Ms Berejiklian was pulled into the corruption probe which had previously focused on allegations against Mr Maguire. This included claims he had used his public office for personal financial gain, including using his ministerial position to broker sales like a $330m development near Badgerys Creek to Chinese developer Country Garden. Later hearings then investigated whether Ms Berejiklian breached public trust by advancing projects put forward by Mr Maguire, and whether she failed to report, or even encouraged potentially corrupt conduct undertaken by the ousted Liberal MP. Thursday’s report will also state whether Ms Berejiklian breached the Ministerial Code of Conduct by failing to disclose her relationship with Mr Maguire. To date Ms Berejiklian has denied all wrong doing. “History will demonstrate that I have always executed my duties with the highest degree of integrity for the benefit of the people of NSW who I have had the privilege to serve,” she said at the time of her resignation. Independent of Operation Keppel, Mr Maguire is also facing charges from the Australian Border Force of criminal conspiracy over allegations of visa and migrant fraud between January 2013 and August 2015. On Monday, he was hit with further charges of giving false and misleading evidence to ICAC while testifying at a separate inquiry, Operation Dasha, in 2018. He has yet to enter a plea on both charges. The protracted delivery of the report has prompted calls to overhaul ICAC’s reporting mechanisms, with shadow attorney general Alister Henskens calling for bipartisan support to implement a six-month reporting deadline after the conclusion of public hearings. Referring to Operation Keppel, he said there was a “consensus” that the drafting of the report had taken too long. “This has been effectively hanging over the head of Gladys Berejiklian for so long,” said Mr Henskens. “That’s an unfairness in itself and for a body which is directed towards integrity and fairness, we think that is not appropriate and more should be done to get much more expeditious outcomes. Premier Chris Minns said he would await the release of the Operation Keppel report before commenting on ICAC’s operations, however he was “prepared to work with all parties” on improving its operations.