NSW Premier Mike Baird fought back tears as he resigned today, explaining he has “been in pain” as he deals with serious family health issues.
“I said many times I didn’t want to become a career politician,” Mr Baird said.
“There is a strong personal cost that comes in public life, and I probably felt that more it than any other time in the past few months.”
Mike Baird announced that he’ll be retiring from politics to focus on his family while also thanking his “great team” and showing trust in whoever will be elected as the next NSW Premier.
“My father and my mother and my sister are going through very serious health challenges,” he revealed.
“I’ve been in pain at not being able to spend the time (with them) that I should.
“This will change today.”
He thanked his family for their support throughout his political career.
“I want to thank my family” he said, calling them an “amazing bunch”.
“My wife Karen has been my lifeline, she has been so supportive on this journey. I love her dearly.”
He joked that he had been “punching above my weight for coming up to 27 years”.
Mr Baird said he was excited about having the time to be there for his children in 2017, and their upcoming milestones, including a wedding, the HSC and coaching his son’s soccer team.
He said he is confident in the team he is leaving behind, and thanked everyone for their support.
“To the people of NSW, I just want to say thank you,” Mr Baird said.
“In 2015, you chose hope over fear.
“We are strongly repaying that faith and trust you placed in us.”
Mr Baird announced his resignation on Twitter this morning, saying that it was time to hand over the reins to a new premier for the state.
“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,” he said in a statement.
“Next week there will be a Liberal party-room meeting and a spill of leadership positions. Following that meeting, I will resign from parliament, effective immediately.”
“I am immensely proud of what Barry O’Farrell and I – together with Andrew Stoner, Troy Grant, John Barilaro and our teams – have achieved over the past six years,” he said.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has thanked the retiring Baird for his “remarkable leadership”.
Mr Turnbull wished him the best and thanked him for showing remarkable leadership to get NSW moving again, particularly through building infrastructure.
9NEWS NSW State Politics reporter Chris O’Keefe said many cabinet ministers thought Baird may soon retire.
“It has been a very tough time,” he said.
“Ten years in politics has weighed very heavily on this man.”
Mr Baird received severe backlash from the public over his controversial ban on greyhound racing in NSW, later admitting he “got it wrong”.
He said he should not have shut down the industry across the state but instead given it “another chance”.
“I got it wrong. The cabinet got it wrong, the government got it wrong,” he told reporters in October.
Soon after, NSW cabinet ministers officially signed off on a plan to reverse the ban.
Mr Baird also consistently fought back against criticisms of his controversial lockout laws.
In February last year he described claims lockout laws are killing Sydney’s night-life as “hysterical”.
In a lengthy Facebook post he shot down a social media campaign to overturn the laws targeting Sydney’s CBD drinking venues.
“The main complaints seem to be that you can’t drink till dawn anymore and you can’t impulse-buy a bottle of white after 10pm,” he wrote.
“I understand that this presents an inconvenience. Some say this makes us an international embarrassment.”
Last month the NSW state government announced it will adopt a trial period of extending bottle shop closing hours and lockout times in Kings Cross and the Sydney CBD, following controversy over the legislation.
