Pressure is mounting on disgraced NSW MP Daryl Maguire to quit politics altogether with a government frontbencher suggesting the backlash in his regional electorate is "incredible".
Mr Maguire was caught on secret recordings discussing a possible commission that he and a councillor could pocket from the sale of a Sydney property to one of China's biggest developers.
In the telephone conversations from 2016, played to the Independent Commission Against Corruption on Friday, the former Liberal boasted about Chinese clients with "mega money" to the Canterbury City councillor at the centre of the investigation.
Transport Minister Andrew Constance on Tuesday stopped short of demanding the Wagga Wagga MP resign but pointed to community outrage as a clear indication Mr Maguire had lost support.
"This is a man who is out of the government, he's out of his party and it's now a matter of his conscience in terms of whether he stays in parliament," Mr Constance told reporters on Tuesday.
"I note the very strong response from the people of Wagga in the last 72 hours to Mr Maguire is incredible - they're making it crystal clear to him."
Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack spoke to Mr Maguire over the weekend but isn't disclosing what was discussed.
A spokesman for Mr McCormack, the federal member for the Riverina, said the deputy PM had been contacted by locals concerned by Mr Maguire's conduct.
"I believe we should await the outcome of the ICAC process and that Mr Maguire should listen to the sentiment of the voters of Wagga Wagga," the spokesman told AAP in a statement.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian on the weekend said she felt deep disappointment but stopped short of pushing for Mr Maguire to resign.
She said Liberal Party nominations for the seat of Wagga Wagga would be brought forward so an appropriate new candidate could be preselected.
Labor's acting opposition leader Michael Daley described her reaction as "weak" and suggested the premier was afraid of a by-election before the March 2019 general election.
Mr Daley instead called for a full audit of meetings Mr Maguire might have had with any NSW cabinet ministers.
Mr Maguire uploaded a video to his Facebook page on Monday afternoon declaring he wouldn't quit parliament.
"I won't resign. I'm not going to resign," he said in the video.
"I won't put the taxpayer to the cost of having a by-election. I think that unreasonable and I think it's a cost that the taxpayer doesn't need."
Mr Maguire deleted his Facebook account a few hours later.
Australian Associated Press
