New South Wales (NSW) Transport Minister David Elliott will quit state politics next year, opting to pull out of a preselection race after his seat was abolished.
The transport, veterans and western Sydney minister’s Baulkham Hills seat will be scrapped and renamed to Kellyville at the 2023 March election.
Elliott, who announced his retirement on his LinkedIn profile on Saturday evening, had instead hoped to take the safe Liberal seat of Castle Hill.
The shift would have required support from inside the Liberal party, who are nominating their preferred candidates for each electorate at the upcoming election.
“I made some inquiries over the course of the past couple of days, and it was quite clear there was no support for me in Castle Hill,” Elliott said on Sunday.
He described contemporary politics as transactional and said he couldn’t “spit the dummy” because of factional deals inside the party.
“I wasn’t conscripted into this game, so I accept the circumstances,” he said.
Premier Dominic Perrottet spoke to Mr Elliott on Saturday night.
“Ultimately, I think David should stay; he’s been a very strong minister of the government,” Perrottet said.
But he also said it would be a “healthy thing” for Macquarie Street to have new blood come through.
“If you look at the parliaments of 10 or 20 years ago, people stayed there until they were 60, 70, 80 years of age,” the premier said.
“I don’t think that is in the best interests of a strong, robust democracy.”
Castle Hill, a safe Liberal seat in Sydney’s northwest, is held by Ray Williams.
Williams is contesting Kellyville, the newly created seat that takes in much of Elliott’s Baulkham Hills seat.
Elliott wouldn’t promise to campaign for whoever got the Liberal party’s nod to run in Castle Hill.
“I’m not going to be a hypocrite and be campaigning for people I don’t think are fit for public office,” Elliott said.
Elliott joins a long list of retiring NSW coalition MPs, including Infrastructure Minister Rob Stokes, Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello, and Corrections Minister Geoff Lee.
The 52-year-old, who has previously served as minister of the police, emergency services, counterterrorism and corrections portfolios, has courted controversy since entering NSW parliament in 2011.
He told a P-plate driver he “worked for the cops” during an alleged road rage incident in 2019, defended the strip-searching of minors, was photographed firing two prohibited guns, and publicly scorned for taking an overseas holiday during the Black Summer bushfires while emergency services minister.
Elliott has more recently been locked in a protracted dispute with NSW’s rail, tram and bus union over a new enterprise agreement.
Reflecting on his 12 years in NSW parliament, Elliott said he had been “controversial but active”.
“I think I’ve taken every advantage of every opportunity. I think I’ve made people know where I stand,” Mr Elliott said.
“I’ve made some mistakes ... I want to reflect on my political career as one that’s made a contribution.”
He planned to return to the private sector but did not rule out a federal tilt.
The coalition will be vying for a historic fourth term at the March election.
