6 October | New Nationals Leader
Today the spotlight in NSW fell on the National Party as they held a party room and ballot to elect the new Leader and Deputy Leader of the NSW National Party. The ballot comes after John Barilaro announced his resignation on Monday, saying NSW needed a “new beginning.”
Paul Toole won the leadership ballot 15-3, defeating his only opponent Melinda Pavey. Bronnie Taylor was elected unopposed Deputy Leader of the party.
As the junior coalition partner, the Leader of the Nationals becomes the Deputy Premier of the NSW Government.
Paul Toole was born and raised just outside of Bathurst in the Central West of NSW. Toole and his wife Joanne have three children Rhayne, Keely and Scout.
Prior to politics, Toole had a 20-year long career in primary school teaching around the Bathurst region.
Toole was elected a councillor to Evans Shire Council in 1995. Following the 2005 amalgamation of Evans Shire Council with Bathurst, Toole was elected to the new Bathurst Regional Council and served as Deputy Mayor. In 2007, he became Mayor.
Toole was elected as the state member for Bathurst with the O'Farrell Government at the 2011 election. Toole received a swing of 36.3 points, securing the traditional Labor seat by winning 74.7 per cent of the two-party preferred vote.
Under the Baird government in 2014, Toole was promoted to cabinet and was given the position of Minister for Local Government, which he stayed in for just under 3 years. In the first Berejiklian ministry, Toole was Minister for Racing and Minister for Lands and Forestry.
In 2019 Toole was elected as Deputy Leader to John Barilaro, and appointed Minister for Regional Transport and Roads.
Bronnie Taylor is from the Cooma region. Taylor and her husband Duncan have two daughters, Hannah and Holly.
Taylor’s election makes her the most senior woman in the NSW Government. She has long been a strong advocate for women, supporting both safe access zones and the decriminalisation of abortion.
When commenting on her nomination for the role of Deputy Taylor said, “I’m always telling women to put their hands up for opportunity, and so I need to walk the walk”.
Taylor studied nursing at the University of Sydney and developed specialty in the field of both palliative care and oncology. Taylor worked as one of the original Clinical Nurse Consultants appointed for the McGrath Foundation and then worked for NSW Health until June 2014.
Prior to serving in the NSW Parliament Taylor spent time on Cooma-Monaro Shire Council. Taylor was first elected to Council in 2010 and became Deputy Mayor in 2011. In 2013, Taylor was nominated for an award to recognise the outstanding contributions and achievements of women in local government.
Taylor entered NSW Parliament in 2015 and is a Member of the Legislative Council, the Upper House of NSW Parliament. In 2016, she was promoted to Parliamentary Secretary for Southern NSW and Regional Communications.
Following the 2019 state election, under the Berejiklian-Barilaro ministry, Taylor was made Minister for Mental Health, Regional Youth and Women.
The rest of the NSW Cabinet, including the new Deputy Premier, Paul Toole, have been sworn in this afternoon at Government House. Perrottet confirmed yesterday that there will be no ministerial reshuffle until the 'summer' to provide continuity to the people of NSW during the early phases of the COVID-19 recovery.
A couple of changes to the cabinet have taken place due to the vacancy of ministries for Treasurer, Trade and Industry, and Transport and Roads. The Transport and Roads portfolio is vacant due to the resignation of long-time Liberal Minister Andrew Constance. Constance resigned on Sunday and announced his plans to run for the Federal seat of Gilmore.
Changes to note in the NSW Cabinet:
Paul Toole has been sworn in as Deputy Premier, and will also keep his portfolio of Regional Transport and Roads and the former Deputy Premier's portfolio of Regional NSW.
Matt Kean has been promoted to NSW Treasurer. He will continue as Minister for Energy and Environment.
Stuart Ayres has picked up Trade and Industry from the former Deputy Premier. Ayres will also continue as the Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney.
Rob Stokes has picked up Transport and Roads from former Minister, Andrew Constance. He will also continue his role as Minister for Planning and Public Spaces.
