Gladys Berejiklian gets approval for taxpayer funded lawyer for ICAC inquiry

Taxpayers are footing the bill for Gladys Berejiklian's legal fees as she is investigated by the NSW anti-corruption watchdog. 

The ousted NSW premier has hired five lawyers, all being paid with taxpayer grants that are capped at $4,880 per day for each silk.

Her team is headed by Bret Walker SC who has acted for bikies, politicians and  sport stars and whose fees are estimated at $25,000 a day. 

Among his recent successes was appearing for Cardinal George Pell when the most senior Catholic clergyman in Australia beat charges of child sexual assault in a High Court appeal. 

Mr Walker is known to work at a discount rate for government jobs.

It has not been disclosed if Ms Berejiklian is paying him more than the taxpayer grant from her own pocket. 

A Department of Communities and Justice spokeswoman confirmed Ms Berejiklian had been given taxpayer cash for her legal fees, saying: 'Gladys Berejilkian applied for and was granted by the Solicitor General, under delegation from the Attorney General, legal representation under Premier's Memorandum M2019-01.

'The grant of legal representation is subject to conditions including level of legal representation and rates.

'It is in the public interest that witnesses are aware of their rights and obligations. Legal representation is an important way of ensuring this.

'It is a condition of all grants of assistance that if the witness is convicted of an indictable offence as a result of the investigation or inquiry, the witness is required to repay the State of NSW the total amount paid, with interest, for their legal representation.'

An indictable offence means a serious offence that carries a two-year jail sentence. 

The corruption watchdog ICAC is investigating whether Ms Berejiklian encouraged or allowed corrupt conduct by her onetime boyfriend Daryl Maguire, the disgraced NSW MP.

The inquiry relates to multi-million dollar government grants awarded to a gun club and conservatorium of music in Mr Maguire's then Wagga Wagga electorate.

Taxpayers picked up Mr Maguire's legal bills when he was before the commission. 

Before establishing Mr Walker would represent Ms Berijiklian at the ICAC hearing, Daily Mail Australia polled several prominent silks about who she was likely to choose. 

'If I were her I'd get Bret Walker,' one Senior Counsel responded immediately. When another Queen's Counsel was asked who he would hire in Ms Berejiklian's position he answered: 'Bret Walker SC'.

Mr Walker is the son of an Anglican minister from Sydney's inner west and was captain and dux of the King's School at Parramatta where broadcaster Alan Jones taught him English.

He was admitted as a barrister in 1979, appointed senior counsel in 1993 and is a former president of the NSW Bar Association. His second wife is fellow barrister Sarah Pritchard SC.

Ms Berejiklian was represented at an earlier ICAC hearing by Arthur Moses SC and they subsequently began a relationship. legal sources said it would be a 'bad look' if he continued to act for her.

Ms Berejiklian had sought Mr Walker's advice after being told by ICAC she would be named as a person of interest in its Operation Keppel inquiry.

Mr Walker advised the then premier she could legally stay in her job while the investigation continued but she resigned on October 1 and was replaced by Dominic Perrottet.

While Ms Berejiklian is not listed as a witness at the hearing next week she will have Mr Walker protecting her interests.

Mr Walker will be assisted by Sophie Callan, who was one of 26 NSW barristers to be appointed senior counsel last year.

Ms Callan is best known known for prosecuting former Labor ministers Eddie Obeid and Ian Macdonald over matters arising from ICAC inquiries. 

Deputy Liberal leader Stuart Ayres has also been given taxpayer cash for lawyers but former Deputy Premier John Barilaro did not apply for it. 

In the second day of hearings on Tuesday, a seemingly run of the mill email from a government adviser linked Ms Berejiklian to a controversial project being investigated by the corruption watchdog. 

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) was shown reams of correspondence on Tuesday about an apparent pre-Christmas rush to get a pet project of her-then secret lover onto the agenda of a major budget meeting.  

It was December 2016 when a funding proposal which public servants repeatedly rubbished as a 'low priority' was suddenly rushed to a cabinet committee meeting with the help of Ms Berejiklian, who was then NSW Treasurer.  

With a subject line of 'Wagg Wagga Clay Target Shooting' (sic), a government adviser wrote: 'The Treasurer has requested this issue be put on the agenda for the ERC meeting on 14 December.'

Those 18 bland words were presented to ICAC on Tuesday as part of its evidence against the former NSW premier - one of few times the inquiry even alluded to Ms Berejiklian today.  

Counsel for ICAC Scott Robertson SC spent the day questioning former public servant, Paul Doorn, who is now the chief executive officer at NSW Rugby Union and NSW Waratahs.

If he'd known Ms Berejiklian was in a close personal relationship with the MP pushing for the project, it would have been a 'red flag', Mr Doorn told ICAC. 

He said there was 'a lot of push' from local MP Mr Maguire to get funding for the shooting facility in Wagga Wagga.  

Mr Doorn had repeatedly classified the proposal as 'low priority', raising concerns about a lack of detail and the fact it would be in competition with an Olympic-standard clay shooting facility the government owned in Sydney.

'We didn't think it stacked up,' he said.

Mr Doorn said there were 'very clear rules' for disclosing conflicts of interests. If he'd known about the former premier's relationship with Mr Maguire, he would have had to approach his department secretary

'Ultimately that would be then drawn to the attention of organisations like ICAC,' he said.

At the end of today's hearing, Mr Robertson, tendered some documents relating to witnesses who are not expected to give evidence during the public hearings.

This included an email on December 6, 2016, from a Yogi Savania in NSW Treasury to Josh Milner, also in Treasury, that said, in part: 'FYI Josh. Could you try and get her hands on this from OOS [Office of Sport].

'I spoke to Zach re this. The treasurer has requested this be brought forward and has indicated an inclination to support the proposal.'

ICAC heard that Ms Berejiklian approved the final version of a funding submission for a state government grant for the Australian Clay Target Association (ACTA) to be taken to the NSW government's expenditure review committee (ERC) in December 2016. 

An email presented in evidence said Ms Berejiklian gave that approval on December 2 and the ERC was to consider the proposal on December 14, 2016. 

The ERC subsequently approved a conditional grant of $5.5 million. 

Mr Robertson referred to the ACTA proposal as a 'Build it and they will come project.'