NSW Premier Mike Baird has announced he will be retiring from politics, just midway through his term in office.
Baird confirmed he will be leaving public life after ten years during an emotional press conference in Sydney this morning.
He labelled the decision a difficult one made during several weeks of discussions with his wife, Kerryn.
“There is a strong personal cost that comes in public life. I felt that more than any other time in the past few month,” Baird told the media as he choked up, unable to control the emotion in his voice.
“My father and my mother and my sister are going through a serious health challenges. And, to be honest, at times I have been in pain not being able to spend the time that I should.
“This will change today.”
The leader of the NSW Liberal first broke the news of his shock exit in a statement released at around 9am on Thursday morning.
“I have decided that this is the perfect time for me to hand the reins over to a new premier," he said.
"Serving as premier of NSW has been a tremendous honour, but I have made clear from the beginning that I was in politics to make a difference, and then move on. After 10 years in public life, this moment for me has arrived."
Speaking to the press this morning, the former investment banker reiterated that he never intended to become a career politician.
"Today I can confirm, that I am retiring from politics. It hasn't been an easy decision, it has taken a lot of deliberation and I strongly believe it is the right decision," he said.
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His family have major health problems, and he was virtually in tears talking about them, so I do feel sorry for what he is going through, but I think he should have equally showed the state of NSW some concern and compassion as he has done some pretty awful things. For instance he has amalgamated numerous councils. In theory he says it is for cost saving, but it is really so that they can supply less services to each area. For instance my local area, a poor area, has amalgamated with other councils, one being a rich area, so I can just guess where all the new shiny things are going to end up, it also means that if you objected to a closure of something, e.g local pool you have to deal with a council nowhere near where you actually live who don't care if you vote for them because all the people in the swanky part of the council will vote for them when they knock down our local pool and build a ritzy new pool in their area etc. Imagine also trying to get through to council when they only have one headquarters as opposed to the previous three, and we all now that the paperwork burden will be just as much, a third of the amount of staff dealing with three times the amount of people and paperwork.
Oh and about the greyhounds, yes I have concerns about the cruelty involved, but I noticed that he didn't announce a shut down of horse racing. So very hypocritical but then the horse racers are at the big end of town who vote for him.
Most people in NSW have had it with him, he certainly would not have been voted in again next election so he probably also realises it is a good time for him to hang up his hat and leave on his own terms before he gets the boot.
Just in time to claim his lifetime parliamentary pension - and not a second too soon.
Good riddance to this wrecking ball, but his successor has a big job cleaning up his mess. Coal mine expansion, private approval for Packer's exclusive casino on our public land, mass privatisation and environmental destruction is not a great legacy. Is it too much to ask that someone will put environmental sustainability as a top priority over 'jobsngrowth.'