Australia's New South Wales state premier resigns over corruption probe amid COVID-19 battle

(https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/gladys-berejiklian-australia-new-south-wales-premier-resigns-corruption-probe-2214616)

SYDNEY: The premier of Australia's biggest state economy New South Wales, Gladys Berejiklian, resigned on Friday (Oct 1) after a corruption watchdog said it was investigating whether she was involved in conduct that "constituted or involved a breach of public trust".

Berejiklian has been one of the most prominent faces of Australia's COVID-19 pandemic response, fronting cameras daily as the federal government was largely sidelined.

Her shock resignation comes as New South Wales, which has an economy larger than Singapore, Thailand or Malaysia, battles the biggest COVID-19 outbreak in the country and is poised to begin ending months-long lockdowns as Australia prepares to reopen international borders in November.

Berejiklian said that the issues being investigated were "historical matters", but she felt compelled to resign because of the long time frames likely to be involved in the investigation. She also said that the state needed certainty over its leadership amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"I state categorically I have always acted with the highest level of integrity," she said at a news conference.

The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said in a statement on its website that it will hold further public hearings as part of its ongoing investigation, Operation Keppel, on Oct 18.

That investigation has already heard Berejiklian was once in a secret relationship with a state legislator who is the focus of its corruption investigation.

"My resignation as premier could not occur at a worse time, but the timing is completely outside of my control, as the ICAC has chosen to take this action during the most challenging weeks, the most challenging times in the state's history," Berejiklian said.

Berejiklian, who became premier in 2017, had fronted the media on an almost daily basis to announce COVID-19 infection rates, deaths and restrictions on businesses, schools and households as the state battles an outbreak of the Delta variant that began in June.

In the past week, daily infection tallies had begun to fall as the state neared a 70 per cent vaccination target, and greater freedom of movement is expected to be granted in mid-October.

New South Wales recorded 864 new cases on Friday and 15 deaths, however officials have warned that hospitals would face a peak in sick patients throughout October as social restrictions are lifted as the state nears 80 per cent vaccination.