Anthony Albanese refuses to call for Gladys Berejiklian's resignation and slams anti-corruption body for airing phone tap recordings of her speaking to her disgraced ex-MP lover
Federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese is refusing to call for Gladys Berejiklian's resignation following taped phone call revelations about her secret lover.
The New South Wales Premier's leadership is shaky after she admitted to the Independent Commission Against Corruption she had been in a clandestine relationship since 2015 with disgraced former Liberal MP and property lobbyist Daryl Maguire.
Mr Albanese has nonetheless declined to call for her resignation, putting him at odds with NSW Labor leader Jodi McKay.
'They conduct New South Wales, my job is to be the federal leader,' he told the ABC's Q&A program on Monday night.
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Federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese is refusing to call for Gladys Berejiklian's resignation following taped phone call revelations about her secret lover
'I certainly don't think that she should be judged on any personal issues, I make that very clear.
'I know Gladys, I've known her for quite a while, I wish her well.'
Mr Albanese, who is separated from former NSW Labor deputy premier Carmel Tebbutt, also slammed ICAC for playing lurid phone calls between Mr Maguire and Ms Berejiklian.
'I think some of the detail that I've read - and I've only read it, I didn't see the evidence - isn't appropriate that that detail be made public,' he said.
'I read one thing in particular that I don't think there was any public interest - it was a term that we wouldn't use on ABC TV.'
The New South Wales Premier's leadership is shaky after she admitted to the Independent Commission Against Corruption she had been in a clandestine relationship since 2015 with disgraced former Liberal MP and property lobbyist Daryl Maguire (pictured right)
In one particular taped recording, Mr Maguire used some sexual language to describe weak public servants.
'I will ... these bureaucrats don't care... they're shaking hands, they are sucking people's d***s and they are turning up to everything and they do nothing,' he said.
Following the ICAC revelations, Ms McKay said this was a reflection on Ms Berejiklian's integrity.
'I'm a woman too, but the difference is I understand integrity,' she tweeted on Monday.
Following the ICAC revelations, NSW Labor leader Jodi McKay said this was a reflection on Ms Berejiklian's integrity
Mr Albanese's predecessor Bill Shorten said Ms Berejiklian could have found a better man.
'She's a smart lady who I think has been punching below her weight with perhaps a much more average guy. I have sympathy for Gladys at the human level,' he told Nine's Today show.
Q&A host Hamish Macdonald, who is public about being in a gay relationship, pointed out Mr Albanese was coy about his private life.
'You're obviously someone that similarly likes to keep your personal life private,' he said.
Anthony Albanese released a statement in January 2019 to announce his separation from former NSW deputy premier Carmel Tebbutt, who is also the mother of his son Nathan. The estranged couple are pictured in September 2018 at the Mid Winter Ball in Canberra
Mr Albanese released a statement in January 2019 to announce his separation from Ms Tebbutt, who is also the mother of his son Nathan.
The 57-year-old Sydney-based MP hasn't yet, however, publicly commented on the record about his new relationship with 41-year-old girlfriend Jodi Haydon, a superannuation manager.
Daily Mail Australia has sought clarification from the federal Opposition Leader's office.
Ms Berejiklian had asked Mr Maguire to quit the Liberal Party and Parliament in 2018.
This sparked a September by-election that saw the Liberal Party lose the southern NSW electorate of Wagga Wagga with a 28 per cent swing against it, ending a 61-year grip on the seat.
She's a fraud': Labor leader calls for Gladys to resign over her 'poor judgement'
Statement by Jodi McKay, New South Wales Opposition Leader
If you thought you knew Gladys Berejiklian then think again. This Premier is a fraud and today she has been unmasked.
Until one month ago, Gladys Berejiklian was still in contact with Daryl Maguire.
Daryl Maguire who is disgraced by ICAC and is a person of interest by ICAC. Now, it just shows a recklessness on the leader of this state. What it shows is poor judgement from the leader of this state.
How on earth did she think it was OK to still be in contact with the disgraced MP and still be in a relationship with him?
The second issue involves the wheeling and dealing which she was privy to.
Now, it is quite obvious from the telephone intercepts that were played today, intercept after intercept, and the questions that were asked of her, and it is quite obvious that she was privy to the wheelings and dealings of Daryl Maguire, a disgraced member of this parliament.
She heard what Daryl Maguire was telling her. And his wheeling and dealing, the dodgy deals that Daryl Maguire was doing went to the heart, the very heart, to the very top of this government with the Premier involved.
Now, when she went to the election in 2019 did she disclose her relationship with Daryl Maguire?
Did she tell any of her colleagues that she was in a relationship with Daryl Maguire when that shocking evidence was first revealed at ICAC back in 2017? She did not.
Gladys Berejiklian has no choice but to resign. She must resign, the citizens of New South Wales believe she must resign, and I know that all of you believe you must resign so she cannot possibly stay as the Premier of this state, given the extraordinary evidence.
I think her political judgement has been poor. Her behaviour has been reckless. She's shown very poor judgement.