The findings against Berejiklian will be another headache for Premier Dominic Perrottet, after his government has lurched from crisis to crisis. These have included the protracted John Barilaro trade scandal and the sacking of fair trading minister Eleni Petinos amid bullying allegations.

Also, former Liberal sports minister John Sidoti was found to have engaged in corrupt conduct, while ex-families minister Gareth Ward is facing trial over sexual assault.

Berejiklian’s corruption hearing, which began a fortnight after her resignation, heard that the former premier did not believe she had any obligation to declare the secret love affair despite describing Maguire as being in her “love circle” and wanting to have a baby with him.

She told the ICAC that her “close personal relationship”, as she described it in the ICAC inquiry, with Maguire began after the 2015 election. Maguire’s version differed, with him suggesting the pair may have begun their romance in 2013.

As Berejiklian worked the phones in the hours after O’Farrell’s resignation in 2014, her allies kept a tally of guaranteed votes on a whiteboard in her office. A photo of that whiteboard, which her backers kept as a keepsake, show that Berejiklian had the numbers to be premier. However, a last-minute change of heart stopped her from running for the premiership, paving the way for Baird to seize the leadership.

“The party needs me at the shit end,” ­Berejiklian told a trusted ally at the time. She ultimately replaced Baird in 2017 when he resigned and Berejiklian was premier for almost five years.

The details of how close Berejiklian came to being premier in 2014 are revealed in a new biography The Secret, which examines the political decisions and personal sacrifices that characterised her early days in public life, her rise to the top and her eventual downfall.

The Secret by Alexandra Smith, Macmillan Australia, RRP $36.99, on sale Tuesday, 30th August.

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