“Optus acknowledges the Icac report published in relation to Gladys Berejiklian’s time serving as a member of the NSW parliament,” Optus said.Īdditional reporting by Jonathan Barrett.Optus chief executive Kelly Bayer Rosmarin will wrestle back some control ceded to the telco’s Singaporean parent when incoming business, enterprise and institutional boss – former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian – reports directly to her instead of also answering to Singtel. Optus, which is owned by Singapore Telecommunications, said in a statement that it acknowledged the report, but would not provide further comment. “It is important, however, for all politicians in NSW and anyone in public life or positions of leadership to understand we must manage conflicts of interest and declare them,” Minns said.īerejiklian, who resigned as premier in October 2021 after the revelation Icac was investigating her, has since taken on a role in the corporate sector, joining Optus in February 2022 in a newly created executive role focused on increasing the telco’s usage among businesses. The second point here is that nothing in this report takes away, I don’t think, from premier Berejiklian’s handling of the Covid emergency, which I still regard as being excellent,” he said. I think that has been generally recognised across the political spectrum in NSW. “Firstly, this report has taken way too long. Liberal party factional ally Matt Kean tweeted: “So it has taken Icac two years to tell us that Gladys Berejiklian has not broken the law.” skip past newsletter promotionĬhris Minns, the freshly elected Labor premier of NSW, did not seize on the findings to criticise Berejiklian, instead defending her handling of the Covid pandemic and lamenting the drawn-out process of releasing the Icac findings. There are findings beyond that that may be up to legal challenge,” Speakman said. “In hindsight, I would have expected as a minister for that to be disclosed. “I think we all gobsmacked when (revelations of Berejiklian’s relationship with Maguire) emerge. However, Speakman acknowledged the gravity of the findings. She was an incredibly popular premier because she wanted what was best for the people of NSW,” Speakman said. Mark Speakman, the NSW opposition leader who previously served as a minister under Berejiklian’s premiership, pointed out Icac did not “suggest that there has been any arguable breach of the criminal law” by her, nor that she “received any personal financial benefit”. However, Icac has not recommended charges be pursued against Berejiklian, noting the legal obstacles and distinction between corrupt and criminal conduct.īerejiklian’s reaction to the findings of corruption followed senior Liberal figures coming out in support of the former premier on Thursday morning. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Additionally, Icac found Berejiklian engaged in corrupt conduct by failing to report suspicions that Maguire had engaged in corrupt conduct. Icac found the former premier’s failure to declare a personal conflict of interest in relation to the grants was a breach of public trust. Berejiklian “engaged in serious corrupt conduct” in the exercising of her official functions in relation to the grants. The findings relate to government grants awarded to two organisations in Wagga Wagga – the Australian Clay Target Association and the Riverina Conservatorium of Music – being advanced by Maguire. On Thursday morning, Icac’s Operation Keppel – which was launched in 2020 to investigate the conduct of the former Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire then later widened to include Berejiklian – concluded the former premier “breached public trust” and “substantially breached the ministerial code”. “Thank you to members of the public for their incredible support.
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