BREAKING: NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell quits.

Barry O’Farrell has resigned from the job as the Premier of New South Wales .

Mr O’Farrell has been Premier since 2011.

The news comes after Mr O’Farrell’s appearance at the Independent Commission Against Corruption’s (ICAC) inquiry into Australian Water Holdings and O’Farrell’s reported inability to explain why he once accepted a $3000 bottle of wine from the head of the company.

This from the ABC:

ICAC alleges the company Australian Water Holdings (AWH) lobbied Mr O’Farrell over an agreement with the state-owned Sydney Water to roll out water infrastructure.

AWH is accused of corruptly billing Sydney Water for expenses and using the money for political donations, executive salaries and various other expenses.

AWH executive Nick Di Girolamo earlier told the inquiry he sent the Premier a $3,000 bottle of wine in 2011 to congratulate him after the election.

The bottle of Grange dated May 24, 1959 – Mr O’Farrell’s birthday – does not appear on the Premier’s pecuniary interests declaration for the period.

Mr O’Farrell reportedly sent a thank you card to Nick Di Girloamo, the former chief executive of Australian Water. That thank you note is now being shared over social media.

Speaking to the media following the announcement, Mr O’Farrell said:

“I still can’t explain either the arrival of a gift that i have no recollection of or it’s, eh, absence which I certainly still can’t fathom.

“But I accept consequences and in an orderly way a new Liberal leader will be elected to take up the position of Premier of NSW.”

Mr O’Farrell said he would officially resign at a Liberal Party meeting next week.

Responding to Mr O’Farrell’s announcement, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said:

“I have enormous respect and admiration for Premier Barry O’Farrell. I have known Barry for two decades.

“He has been a friend of mine throughout that time. He has been a great servant of the Liberal Party, a great servant of the people of NSW and of Australia.

“He has constantly worked to do the right thing by the people of NSW and we were together as recently as last Friday in China winning trade and jobs for our country and our State.

“Obviously, as we now know, he innocently, inadvertently misled ICAC yesterday and he has taken the utterly honourable step of resigning as Premier.

“This is an honour and an integrity at a very high level. We are seeing an act of integrity, an act of honour, the like of which we have rarely seen in Australian politics. I admire him tremendously for this, although I deeply regret the necessity for it.”

The news comes on the same day the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are due to arrive in Sydney.

More to come.