Prime Minister Scott Morrison has labelled the investigation into former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian as shameful and welcomed the idea of her making a tilt for the federal seat of Warringah.
Speculation has increased Ms Berejiklian would put her hand up for Liberal preselection to run against Zali Steggall in the northern Sydney electorate after the independent won it from former prime minister Tony Abbott in 2019.
Mr Morrison dismissed concerns Ms Berejiklian would be tainted by an investigation from the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption over whether she’d failed to disclose a relationship with Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire when awarding grants to his electorate.
She has also been accused of turning a blind eye to Mr Maguire’s corrupt conduct.
Ms Berejiklian resigned as the premier on 1 October after ICAC revealed she was being investigated.
The resignation followed ministerial standards which outline the expectation for a minister subject to an investigation by law enforcement or an integrity agency.
Mr Morrison said there was no suggestion of criminal conduct and has consistently described the commission’s public hearings as a kangaroo court.
“We have seen plenty of recordings of private conversations detailing intimate things that were paraded around in the media,” he told reporters in Sydney on Monday.
“I thought that was awful. I don’t call that justice.
“The way that Gladys Berejiklian has been treated has been shameful. She is a person of great integrity.”
The ICAC has not yet delivered any findings in relation to Ms Berejiklian and does not make criminal determinations.
Labor frontbencher Chris Bowen slammed Mr Morrison’s comments as outrageous, saying it undermined every inquiry, investigation and finding the commission has made.
“The ICAC is a truly independent body which should be respected, not undermined by the most senior politician in the country,” he told the National Press Club.
Ms Berejiklian previously ruled out running for Warringah before the ICAC probe concluded but has since walked back her comments to Liberal insiders as she weighs up her options.
Liberals quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald said the ICAC investigation would have no bearing on her decision to run, and that federal members did not care about the outcome.
The Liberal preselection for Warringah has been pushed back to 14 January to give Ms Berejiklian time to consider her position.
The counsel assisting the commission is due to hand down its submission into the Maguire inquiry – through which Ms Berejiklian was questioned – on 20 December.
It will be subject to a non-publication order and only delivered to relevant parties.
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese would not be drawn about Ms Berejiklian’s integrity despite framing the government’s failure to enact a federal anti-corruption commission as a key election issue, saying the investigation should be allowed to run its course.
“It doesn’t matter who the candidate is for Warringah,” he said.
“This is a bad government, which is why Scott Morrison is … worried not about winning seats back off an independent, he’s worried about more seats going independent.”
By Dominic Giannini in Canberra
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