5 October | NSW Leadership Refresh

To say it’s been a tumultuous week in NSW politics would be an enormous understatement.

On Friday afternoon, we saw the shock resignation of NSW Premier, Gladys Berejiklian. Her departure has left the state in disbelief, with a huge outpouring of love and support for the former Premier. Under Berejiklian’s leadership, the state has managed its way through drought, bushfires, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Berejiklian has also declared that she will resign from her seat of Willoughby, which she has safely held since 2003.

On Sunday, NSW Transport and Roads Minister and State Member for Bega, Andrew Constance resigned from Cabinet. He also announced his resignation from the seat of Bega by the end of the year. Constance has held the state electorate of Bega since 2003, joining NSW Parliament at the same time as former Premier Berejiklian. Constance has made his ambition clear to run for the seat of Gilmore at the Federal election early next year.

This was then followed by a surprise announcement yesterday morning of the resignation of John Barilaro, the Deputy Premier and Leader of the NSW Nationals. Barilaro has been the Member for Monaro since 2011 and Deputy Premier since 2016. During Barilaro’s final press conference as Deputy Premier, he made it clear that he has no intention to run for Federal Parliament and is instead taking on a new career path.

So, with the resignation of both the Premier, Deputy Premier, and a Senior Minister, it is safe to say that there will be a new, refreshed cabinet taking on the next year of COVID-19 recovery and the next state election in March 2023. It is anticipated that by elections will take place for all three seats on the 4th of December, to coincide with the date of Local Government elections.

Dominic Perrottet was confirmed as the new Premier of NSW this morning after winning a ballot for the Leadership against Planning Minister Rob Stokes 39 - 5. Stuart Ayres was declared Deputy Leader of the NSW Liberal Party after nominating for the position and not being opposed. 

So, who is the new NSW Liberal leadership team?

Dominic Perrottet was born and raised in West Pennant Hills and is the eldest of 12 children. Perrottet and his wife Helen have six children: Charlotte, Amelia, Annabelle, William, Harriet, and Beatrice.

Perrottet has always shown a keen interest in politics, especially during his time at the University of Sydney. Perrottet was first elected to the NSW Parliament in 2011, winning the safe Liberal seat of Castle Hill with 80.8 per cent of the two-party preferred vote. At the 2019 state election Perrottet was elected as the Member for Epping in a move which saw Finance Minister, Damien Tudehope move to the NSW Legislative Council.

Perrottet first entered cabinet under the Baird government in a ministerial reshuffle in 2014 as Minister for Finance and Services. He then took on Property as an additional portfolio in 2015. Under the Berejiklian government in January 2017, Perrottet was elected Deputy Liberal Leader, and took on the portfolio of Treasurer and Minister for Industrial Relations.

Perrottet has handed down five budgets during his time as NSW Treasurer, helping the state get through the 2019-20 bushfire recovery and the COVID-19 pandemic. He has been a keen proponent of tax reform, advocating for changes to stamp duty and the GST during his time as Treasurer.

Stuart Ayres moved around Australia a lot in his early years, before settling and building his life in Penrith. Ayres is a voice for local sport in Western Sydney and is a loud and proud supporter of the Penrith Panthers!

Ayres took Penrith from being a traditional safe Labor seat to a safe Liberal seat in 2010, when he received 66.3 per cent of the two-party preferred vote (22.7 per cent swing) – at the time, this was the largest swing against a sitting government in NSW history.

During his time in government, Ayres has held many different portfolios in cabinet including Fair Trading, Sport and Recreation, Police and Emergency Services, Trade Tourism and Major Events, Western Sydney and Jobs and Investment. More recently he has been a vocal advocate for the reopening of the economy and the relaxation of public health orders during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NSW Nationals are due to hold their party room and ballot tomorrow. We will send out a further email tomorrow once the new Deputy Premiership is confirmed.