New State Councillor Marquille. (photo of the Daily Telegraph)
According to the Daily Telegraph, a new state lawmaker, Marquille (Daryl Maguire), withdrew from the Liberal Party over the scandal, but firmly refused to resign as (Wagga) councilor in Warga until the general election in March next year. Maguire gets A $13755 a month as a member of parliament, but says he is committed to saving money for taxpayers.
ICAC (ICAC) revealed last week that Maguire was seeking a commission in a property deal at Pik Kwai Garden, a Chinese real estate development company.
On Monday, Maguire posted a video on social media Facebook announcing that he would remain a congressman until next March, but that he would not run again. But before the scandal was revealed, he said he had no intention of running. "I will not let taxpayers bear the cost of by-election," he said. I don`t think it`s reasonable. There`s no need to spend taxpayer money. I violated a strict code of conduct of the Secretary of Parliament, but I was able to continue to work on behalf of the Voga constituency. "
However, Maguire`s Facebook page, including the video, was closed Monday night.
Maguire`s basic salary is A $165066 a year. In the next eight months, he will receive A $110044. Although he resigned as parliamentary secretary and would lose A $21459 in wages, he still has an annual spending limit of A $11555. Mr Maguire was elected before 2007, when the politician`s pension system was still not tightened, meaning Mr Maguire would still be entitled to a lifetime pension. The pension, equivalent to 48.8 percent of his basic salary, is at least A $80552 a year, plus an extra allowance for more than seven years.
Moreover, in the scandal, Maguire did not hire a lawyer of his own, but turned to the legal Office for help and was assigned a junior lawyer. The lawyer charges A $285 an hour, capped at A $2140 a day, according to the attorney`s fees. The costs are also borne by government. However, if Maguire was found guilty, he would have to compensate the government for the funds.
A spokesman for the new state`s attorney general, Spikman (Mark Speakman), said Mr. Maguire was not involved in the process of approving attorneys` fees.
