Editorial
What a day in NSW politics.
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Just when you thought 2020 had served up just about all the weirdness it could, we have a NSW Premier admitting to the corruption watch dog she has maintained a close personal relationship with the subject of a significant investigation.
It's amazing when you consider prior to Monday most would have believed Gladys Berejiklian's copybook to be largely unmarked.
Read more: Calls for Gladys Berejiklian's resignation
Whether you agree with her politics or not, the Premier has had a solid track record and has been a strong leader for the state during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yet the news of her relationship with Daryl Maguire even after he was forced from parliament up until a few months ago has blotted that copybook badly.
On Monday we heard Premier Berejiklian's supporters shout the private life of politicians should be kept separate to their public lives.
To an extent maybe that is true.
Yet when you are a leader of a major business, let alone the leader of an Australian state, maintaining a relationship with a colleague directly at the centre of corruption allegations under your watch that would be of significant public interest.
This does bring the Premier's judgement clearly into question. Without doubt.
Would it pass the pub test? Probably not.
Could it end her stint as leader? Probably not now. Maybe down the track.
There is no suggestion here the Premier has been guilty of any corruption, but continuing the relationship given the nature what was being alleged was not particularly astute, especially when you issue statements such as the one the Premier issued when McGuire was dumped in 2018.
By Gladys Berejiklian's own words she "stuffed up".
Yet we do not buy the claims that there is a not a separation of public life versus life here.
It will be now a question of whether her colleagues deem her public support and power strong enough to continue or they chose to challenge her leadership.
That will be the Premier's next big test.
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