Gladys Berejiklian to become NSW Premier

NEWLY-elected NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian is set to begin the business of winding back Mike Baird’s unpopular decisions.

GLADYS Berejiklian has been elected unopposed to become the leader of the NSW Liberal party and the state’s Premier.

The party’s deputy leader and treasurer was elected at a party room meeting in Sydney on Monday morning following the shock retirement of Mike Baird.

With no competitors for the role, no vote was held to appoint the 45th premier of NSW.

Finance Minister Dominic Perrottet will score her old job, as well as the deputy leadership of the Liberal party. Nationals leader John Barilaro will remain as Deputy Premier.

In her first public comments following the announcement, the new Premier pledged to fix the state’s problems.

“I’m someone who likes to act, I’m someone who likes to fix a problem and get things done,” she said.

Gladys Berejiklian who will become the new NSW Premier and the new deputy of the Liberal party Dominic Perrottet pictured in her office in Martin Place. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Ms Berejiklian is likely to make significant changes to unpopular Baird government decisions.

Addressing media in Sydney, Ms Berejiklian was questioned about being complicit in unpopular decisions enforced under Mr Baird’s leaderships that she would now work to reverse.

The new Premier she said she would be honest with the electorate about her involvement in pushing those policies through.

“I take full responsibility and I want to. We have been a great government,” she said.

“We have a lot that we owe to Mike Baird’s leadership. My job now is to continue that and that I want to make sure is that the billions of dollars we have in infrastructure, the strong position that we have is shared equally about NSW.”

Ms Berejiklian said she would “take on issues that I know are causing angst for people and deal with them in an appropriate way”.

The state’s new leader is tipped to begin with reconsidering forced council amalgamations under pressure from coalition partner the Nationals.

In an interview with Sydney radio station 2GB after her election Ms Berejiklian said though she wouldn’t “rule anything in or out today”, she planned to move on the council amalgamation issue as a priority.

“I am looking forward to sitting down the Nationals leader and other colleagues on that issue,” she said.

The new Premier also said she was willing to “listen to the community” on this and other issues.

On the greyhound ban reversal, another of Mr Baird’s decisions that led to the outgoing Premier’s extraordinary fall in popularity, Ms Berejiklian said it would go through “as soon as practicable”.

Ms Berejiklian has said she wants to “go harder” with infrastructure, including upgrades to hospitals, schools and sports facilities.

The new Premier is also expected to make a significant cabinet reshuffle with Health Minister Jillian Skinner and Community Services Minister Brad Hazzard tipped to be moved out.

Ms Berejiklian said she wanted to give herself “about a week or so” before announcing her new cabinet to ensure she the best decisions in building a strong team.

‘I’m ready for anything’: Newly-appointed NSW Premier said she is prepared for the pressure of becoming leader. Picture: Jeremy Piper

At her first press conference as Premier, Ms Berejiklian outlined the two influences in her life she said had the greatest impact on her life, and will shape “the type of Premier I will be from today”.

The state’s new leader credited her immigrant family and the public education system.

She spoke with admiration about her family and the teachers that taught her strength and the value of hard work.

“I have had the amazing opportunity to have the most outstanding human beings as my parents. I haven’t talked about this much previously but my father was a boy letter maker, a welder and one of the first jobs he did in Sydney was working on the Sydney Opera House, which is a great sense of pride for my family — boiler maker. My mum left school at 15 to support her family and became a nurse,” she said.

“There wasn’t a week that went by when my parents didn’t remind us of how lucky we were to have the opportunities we have here in New South Wales.

“In our household, there was no room for complaining or making excuses, you just got on with the job and did it.”

Ms Berejiklian, who began school in Sydney without speaking or understanding English, praised the state’s public education system and pledged to improve it.

“As my parents were new immigrants, I was born here in Sydney. When I started school I couldn’t speak English. I remember my mother said to me ‘Don’t worry if you don’t really understand what the teacher says, put up your hand and have a go’,” she said.

“Today, I took my mum’s advice but I want to pay tribute to the teachers who, during my life at school in the public education system, saw something in me and encouraged it. That is why you will have in me, the strongest supporter of Gonski. I know what a public education can do for somebody.”

Ms Berejiklian was also asked to comment new US President Donald Trump’s swearing in just days before her swearing-in as Premier.

“I have to confess there is one thing and Mr Trump and I have in common and that is the number 45 and it pretty much stops after that,” she said.