'She was punching below her weight': Bill Shorten defends Gladys Berejiklian in Today show interview with Karl Stefanovic after details of the premier's relationship with former MP Daryl Maguire were revealed

Bill Shorten has defended Gladys Berejiklian after her secret relationship with a disgraced former MP was revealed.

The New South Wales premier is under pressure to step down after her relationship with former Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire, from 2015 to August 2020, was uncovered at the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption on Monday. 

The Federal Labor MP weighed in on the scandal when he appeared on the Today Show on Tuesday, telling host Karl Stefanovic he sympathised with Ms Berejilkian.

He said he thought Ms Berejilkian had been 'punching below her weight' with an 'average guy'.

The New South Wales premier is under pressure to step down after her relationship with former Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire, from 2015 to August 2020, was uncovered at the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption on Monday (both pictured)

'Can I take off my political hat, my Labor hat for a moment and just say I was surprised, but I don't know, it's all pretty human, isn't it?' he said. 

'I don't hold that against Gladys. I mean, she's a very dignified person.

'I think she would have been embarrassed by listening to the phone tapes of her conversation.

'She's a smart lady who I think has been punching below her weight with perhaps a much more average guy.'

Stefanovic and guest Gus Worland erupted in laughter over the comments. 

Ms Berejiklian, who is unmarried and has no children, has been fighting off calls to resign. 

She insisted she has 'done nothing wrong' and has not been compromised by her relationship with 61-year-old father-of-two Mr Maguire, who recently divorced ex-wife Maureen. 

An emotional Gladys Berejiklian (pictured on Monday) has refused to resign after her secret relationship with a disgraced former MP who is facing a corruption investigation shocked Australia

The New South Wales premier (pictured today), who is unmarried and has no children, admitted she 'stuffed up' by secretly dating former Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire

Bill Shorten has defended Gladys Berejiklian after her secret relationship with a disgraced former MP was revealed

Mr Maguire resigned in 2018 after a corruption inquiry heard evidence he sought payments to help broker deals for property developers. He is now facing a separate corruption inquiry, accused of using public office to improperly gain.

Ms Berejiklian said she was not aware of his alleged misconduct when they were dating.

'I assumed he was doing the right thing. I had my trust in him, and obviously I know now that that trust was misplaced, and I accept that human failing on my part, and I accept it wholeheartedly,' she said.

'I had no reason at the time to imagine that he was doing anything wrong, because I trusted him, and I assumed that, if there was any interests to be declared, that he did that.'

The premier said she effectively ended the romance when she sacked Mr Maguire from the Liberal Party before he resigned from parliament.

The premier's secret relationship was revealed on Monday morning when tapped phone calls between her Mr Maguire (pictured together) were played at a corruption inquiry 

Ms Berejiklian said she had a 'personal attachment' to Mr Maguire and their relationship - which began in 2015 - had been kept under wraps as she was a 'very private person'. Mr Maguire is pictured outside ICAC on July 13, 2018

'The dynamics changed substantially and I was there to support him as a close friend,' she said.

Ms Berejiklian said she kept the relationship secret from all her family and friends because it was not 'of sufficient status' and she was not sure if it had a future.

She described herself as a 'very private' person and said the exposure of the relationship was a 'personal nightmare'.

What is the Maguire ICAC inquiry about?

The Independent Commission Against Corruption is investigating whether the former MP for Wagga Wagga, Daryl Maguire, engaged in conduct that breached public trust by using his public office to improperly gain a benefit for himself or entities close to him including the company G8wayInternational.

He was forced to quit the Berejiklian government in 2018 after a separate ICAC inquiry heard evidence he sought payments to help broker deals for property developers.

'I can't tell you what it's done to me personally. It's been devastating, and I've had to bear this on top of everything else,' she said referring to her leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Opposition leader Jodi McKay described Ms Berejiklian as a fraud and said she must resign.

Ms Berejiklian was backed by her colleagues including Health Minister Brad Hazzard who called her 'the best premier in Australia.'

The premier's secret relationship was revealed on Monday morning when tapped phone calls between her Mr Maguire were played at a corruption inquiry.

The calls feature Mr Maguire using colourful language including swear words. He called her 'babe' and she called him her 'numero uno' - Spanish for number one.

Asked at the inquiry what she meant by 'numero uno', Ms Berejiklian said: 'I think what I would have meant there is that in my personal life I placed importance on how I felt about him.'

During the calls, Mr Maguire made comments such as 'they are sucking people's d***s' and 'they can get f**ked', but the onetime Girl Guide often simply replied to his remarks with 'Mmm'.

In other private correspondence the two called each other 'hawkiss', an Armenian term of endearment.

One call between Ms Berejiklian and Mr Maguire played to the Independent Commission Against Corruption took place before a trip he planned making to China.

Mr Maguire was concerned about looming job losses at a company which was based outside his electorate of Wagga Wagga.

'She's a fraud': Labor leader calls for Gladys to resign over her 'poor judgement' 

Statement by Jodi McKay, leader of the NSW Opposition 

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.