MEMBER for Hawkesbury Dominic Perrottet has officially been voted in as the deputy leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party and will become Treasurer.
Mr Perrottet will serve under new New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who has pledged to tackle housing affordability in New South Wales as one of her key focal points while in power.
Ms Berejiklian hosted a press conference on Monday morning where she confirmed Mr Perrottet, who has been serving as Minister for Finance, Services and Property, would serve as Treasurer.
Mr Perrottet still has to be sworn in as Treasurer before he takes on the title officially.
The Liberal Party room hosted a vote to determine the new leader on Monday morning, with government whip Chris Patterson announcing afterwards that Ms Berejiklian and Mr Perrottet were elected unanimously.
The pair, who are from opposing factions within the party, struck a deal to support each other.
Former Premier Mike Baird shocked many on Friday when he announced he intended to retire from politics, in order to take care of his family, with his parents and sister all suffering from various medical ailments.
Mr Perrottet issued a statement on Monday, and said he was very happy to become deputy Leader of the party.
“I want to thank the people of Hawkesbury for giving me the honour of representing them in Parliament and the opportunity to join the Government's leadership team,” he said.
“My first priority is to serve you, and I will continue to fight just as hard for Hawkesbury as I have since being elected.”
Ms Berejiklian also stated she wants to see New South Wales have a strong economy, a goal Mr Perrottet said he was happy to share.
“We inherited from Labor a basket case economy,” he said.
“[We had] a budget in disarray, a shameful infrastructure backlog and inadequate services that belonged in the last century.
“In six short years we have taken NSW from last to first, thanks to the exceptional leadership of Mike Baird and Gladys Berejiklian, and the hard work of a dedicated Coalition team.
“A sound economy and a strong budget position are important for one reason only: they make it possible to deliver better healthcare for those who need it, better education for our children, better employment prospects for the workers of NSW, and better business conditions for our entrepreneurs and employers.”
Mr Perrottet said he could not think of a more suitable candidate to be Premier than Ms Berejiklian.
