Former Wagga MP Maguire 'sought job' with China investment firm after failed land sale, ICAC hears

The Independent Commission Against Corruption was also told yesterday that Mr Maguire set up a "very unusual" meeting with senior bureaucrats and pushed for zoning and road changes in western Sydney.

ICAC has heard that the planning changes sought by Mr Maguire would increase the value of property he had previously tried to help sell in return for a fee of up to $1 million.

Former head of investments for Chinese company Country Garden, Tim Lakos, told ICAC that he had a "casual discussion" with Mr Maguire about the possibility of a "paid role" after he retired as an MP.

Mr Lakos said this conservation took place after Country Garden declined to purchase a west Sydney property from Louise Raedler-Waterhouse.

Property agent William Luong has told ICAC he would have paid Mr Maguire at least $690,000 if the Waterhouse property had sold for $330 million.

Mr Lakos said there was no fee discussed with Mr Maguire for coming to Country Garden with suggested property deals, including two at Campsie.

"I understood him to be discharging his duties to the parliamentary [Asia Pacific Friendship] committee he was part of," Mr Lakos said.

ICAC was played an intercepted phone call from 2016 in which Mr Maguire said he had a "mega big client" with "mega money".

"I suppose that would have been us," Mr Lakos told ICAC.

ICAC was presented with emails from Mr Lakos that described Mr Maguire as a "deal broker".

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Former Greater Sydney Commission chief executive Dr Sarah Hill told ICAC yesterday that then-Roads Minister Melinda Pavey asked her to attend a "regrettable" meeting with Mr Maguire and Ms Raedler-Waterhouse in Parliament House in March 2018.

Dr Hill said she had procedures for meeting landowners that included a probity officer being present, but she was not aware Ms Raedler-Waterhouse would attend until a few minutes beforehand.

"I was particularly energised to write a very detailed file note straight away after the meeting. To be frank, I was angry," she said.

Dr Hill said her "feeling" was that Mr Maguire was an "advocate" for Ms Raedler-Waterhouse and "expressed frustration" over a refusal to change a planning scheme in ways that would benefit her property.

Dr Hill said Mr Maguire was "quite derogatory towards bureaucrats".