High Steaks: Dominic Perrottet says Coalition ‘didn’t deserve’ to win fourth term

Now he’s leaving politics behind, former premier Dominic Perrottet reveals what went wrong for the Libs – and what he really thinks of his predecessors, in a High Steaks interview.

“In some ways, we didn’t deserve to win.”

In the almost 18 months since Dominic Perrottet lost the 2023 state election, the former premier has never been so candid, publicly, on what went wrong.

Now he is leaving politics behind — for good — Perrottet is finally putting on the record the reasons why the Coalition was turfed from office after 12 years.

“I think that Labor had a more united team,” he says.

“They wanted to be in government more than our team wanted to get into government.

“And I think it’s better that the public has a government that wants to be there, and appreciates the absolute honour and privilege to serve the state.

“I think they had a team united behind Chris (Minns) that wanted to do that.”

Former premier Dominic Perrottet at Luke’s Kitchen, the day after he delivered his final speech to parliament. Picture: Richard Dobson

This is a bombshell revelation about an election loss on which the former premier has had a long time to reflect.

Perrottet always knew it would be “very difficult” to win, a view he held since taking over as premier, if only because of the mathematics of politics.

“We had been in government for 12 years, we were in a hung parliament, just basic mathematics indicated that it was going to be incredibly tough to win a fourth term,” he says.

He also thinks time in Opposition could be good for the Coalition, to “reshape and rebuild”.

Perrottet with his wife Helen and seven children during the election campaign last year. Picture: Monique Harmer

The loss was not for lack of trying — Perrottet threw everything at the campaign.

It is similar to when Perrottet, as a 14-year-old, was struggling through a cross-country race with no chance of winning. He was on the brink of collapse due to dehydration, but was determined to finish — even though he knew he was losing.

I uncovered this anecdote while poring over a parenting book written by Perrottet’s mother, Anne.

The book, Thriving and Surviving Raising Thirteen, is full of anecdotes about Perrottet and his 12 siblings in their early years.

The stories are all anonymous, but I can reveal that as a small child, Perrottet threw a large terracotta pot at one of his younger siblings. His mother was not impressed.

Anne Perrottet also tells the story of Joseph, the brother Perrottet never got to know.

Joseph had a congenital abnormality and died in childbirth. The Perrottet family held birthday celebrations for him every year.

“We always felt that he was part of our family, and Mum continues to honour him. I think there’s always a special spot in our hearts for a brother we never knew,” says Perrottet, himself a father of seven children with wife Helen.

Perrottet is congratulated by colleagues in NSW Parliament after giving his valedictory speech last week. Picture: John Appleyard

It has been an emotional 24 hours for Perrottet. He delivered his valedictory speech the day before our meeting, later toasting the occasion at Justin Hemmes’ Ivy Bar with friends and colleagues.

We are now sitting down for what he is calling his “final interview”, for which he has chosen Luke’s Kitchen at the Kimpton Margot Hotel. The choice is no accident: Perrottet counts restaurateur Luke Mangan as a friend, and someone whose advice he relied on in the dark days of the Covid pandemic.

“I reached out to him a lot during that time, to get an understanding of what the struggles were,” Perrottet says.

Mangan, and others, helped Perrottet create targeted economic recovery packages to get businesses back on their feet — like the Long Lunch, and the Dine and Discover vouchers.

We dine in a spacious private room, where bottles of wine adorn the walls. While the table can seat up to 10 people for a meal, today there are just the two of us eating.

We share an entree of prawn toast. Perrottet describes it as “the best prawn toast in Sydney”, and I have no evidence to the contrary.

Our steak of choice is a two-person-sized piece of wagyu, which we order medium-rare. It arrives perfectly cooked, on a bed of fried brussels sprouts, bacon and rosemary.

The sprouts are soft, but with beautifully charred edges, and the mint bearnaise sauce is rich and zesty.

We get most of the hard stuff out of the way before our meal arrives.

Perrottet and journalist James O’Doherty dig in at Luke’s Kitchen. Picture: Richard Dobson

On the Covid pandemic, Perrottet says the state took a “balanced” approach, but believes we still have not seen the full impact of decisions to close down schools — particularly on mental health and educational outcomes.

He also thinks that the government “should never have shut the construction industry down”.

Perrottet was treasurer for most of the Covid pandemic, before taking the top job after premier Gladys Berejiklian’s shock resignation.

In a farewell speech to Coalition colleagues last week, he said that he did not always agree with decisions made in the Covid Crisis Cabinet — but refuses to give me any more details.

Asked to reflect on Berejiklian’s leadership, Perrottet takes a very measured approach.

“Gladys, to her absolute credit, put together that Crisis Cabinet meeting, which had the right people sitting around the table,” he says.

“That’s exactly what good government’s about.”

Then-premier Gladys Berejiklian with then-treasurer Perrottet. Picture: AAP Image

Liberal sources say that there was always tension between Perrottet and Berejiklian in government, and that the relationship got increasingly strained in the later years.

Perrottet does not have a bad word to say about his predecessor, however.

“You will never find a government that doesn’t have tension over time between a premier and a treasurer,” he says. “That’s not a bad thing.”

Perrottet, of course, only took over after Berejiklian quit amid an ICAC probe, which went on to level “serious corrupt conduct” findings against her.

On that, Perrottet refuses to comment on whether he thinks Berejiklian broke the rules.

“Gladys paid a very heavy price. She should not be remembered for that,” he says.

“She should be remembered for all the good that she did over many years in government.”

Berejiklian was one of three premiers Perrottet served under. He became a minister under Mike Baird, after Barry O’Farrell resigned.

Perrottet is effusive about Baird, declaring he never got the “credit he deserves” for funnelling billions of dollars into infrastructure spending paid for by politically risky privatisation.

He will not say, publicly, which premier he thought was best.

“I don’t rank my children and I also don’t rank the premiers,” he says.

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Originally published as High Steaks: Dominic Perrottet says Coalition ‘didn’t deserve’ to win fourth term