THE bombshell resignation of Gladys Berejiklian was no surprise to Member for Murray Helen Dalton, who now wants the NSW Liberals to quickly install a leader who will be “Premier for the whole of the state”.
The Shooters, Fishers and Farmers party representative said there had been “whispers” in parliamentary circles that Ms Berejiklian, beleaguered by the weight of an Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) investigation while under national fire over her handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, would eventually be forced to quit. Only the immediate timing had come as a shock.
Mrs Dalton said there were several candidates for the leadership, but Attorney-General Mark Speakman was most likely to take over.
“I think he’d be up for the job, but (the NSW Liberal Party) will need to decide quickly because we need good leadership,” Mrs Dalton told Sunraysia Daily.
She said Ms Berejiklian’s government had been too focused on Sydney, where she was far more popular than in country areas.
“The government is not just one person,” Mrs Dalton said.
Ms Berejiklian announced on Friday afternoon she would also step down from State Parliament after NSW’s ICAC announced it would investigate her relationship with former MP Daryl Maguire and whether she “exercised public functions” in a position of conflict between her public duties and private relationship with Mr Maguire, the former Wagga Wagga MP.
The former couple’s five-year relationship was secret until Ms Berejiklian disclosed it at an ICAC hearing last year.
Mrs Dalton, an ardent campaigner against corruption who has made a number of reports to ICAC, said Ms Berejiklian’s actions and secrecy were “not an acceptable thing to do”.
She said the Premier had also largely ignored the problems of rural and border communities and had failed to consult with them.
Mrs Dalton said she was “looking forward to a new relationship” with the Liberal Government once a new leader was installed.
“There are lots of things we need to discuss,” Mrs Dalton said, adding that health, water and education would top her agenda.
