Another NSW minister calls it quits in further blow to Perrottet government

Another NSW minister has announced he will be stepping down – and now the race is on to preselect his Liberal successor.

Several Liberals are hoping to fill outgoing NSW Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello’s seat of Ryde when he retires at the next election.

Nominations for preselection close on Monday and two names have been floated by Liberal sources as likely to run: former City of Sydney councillor Craig Chung and Ryde mayor Jordan Lane.

Both declined to comment on whether they planed to run, but each man offered glowing words about Mr Dominello, a 14-year MP who cited family health reasons behind his decision to quit.

“Victor has been a magnificent local member and will be sorely missed – he has delivered so much for our electorate,” Mr Chung said.

Mr Lane said Mr Dominello was a “true reformer” with a strong legacy in the community.

Mr Dominello said on Wednesday morning he had decided to call it quits at the March election.

“I have made the difficult decision to retire from politics. A family health issue emerged in mid-2019 which has since deteriorated,” he said in a statement.

“Accordingly, I will not contest the next election in March 2023.”

Victor Dominello will retire from politics after 14 years. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard.

The minister said he was “eternally grateful” to the Ryde community and promised to work tirelessly to support the election of a Liberal successor in the area.

Although the resignation comes at a difficult time for NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, Mr Dominello reiterated his faith in the state leader.

“My heartfelt thanks to the Premier for his leadership, strong vision, and reform zeal for the people of our great state,” he said.

Mr Dominello will continue to hold his ministerial positions until the state election on March 25 next year.

Having held the role of NSW customer service minister during the time it was most desperately needed in the pandemic, Mr Dominello said his team “have laid the foundations for a successful future in the digital era”.

Among his many achievements were the introduction of the digital driver’s licence, the much-used ServiceNSW app, QR check-ins, and Dine and Discover vouchers.

Mr Dominello has served as a minister since 2011. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Swift

“I feel deeply grateful to be a very small part of a genuinely transformational team,” he said.

The NSW Premier praised Mr Dominello for leading the state government into the digital age and “delivering nation-leading initiatives”.

“He has also overseen the transformation of Service NSW, which has fundamentally changed the way people interact with the NSW government, and helped them access support and save time and money,” Mr Perrottet said in a statement.

“On behalf of the NSW government and the NSW Liberal Party, I thank Victor for his significant contribution to public life and our state.”

There was speculation Mr Dominello’s retirement may have been due to a 2021 diagnosis of Bell’s palsy, a condition that causes weakness on one side of the face.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said he wished Mr Dominello and his family all the best. Picture: NewsWire / Monique Harmer

However, a spokesman confirmed that Bell’s palsy was not the health issue prompting the former lawyer’s retirement.

The minister told 2GB’s Ben Fordham that he knew this would be his last term in parliament in May 2019 when his family member’s diagnosis became apparent.

“I wanted to go when Glad(ys Berejiklian) went because I thought it was a pretty good juncture,” he said.

“But I spoke to Dom and he encouraged me to stay until the end of the term.”

Mr Dominello said the Premier was a “very compassionate human being” and denied he was deserting a sinking Liberal Party.

“It’s like any team, you need to have renewal. No one is around forever,” he told Fordham.

For his remaining 220 days in office, the Ryde MP said he would be focused on achieving outcomes such as the implementation of a digital birth certificate.

Mr Dominello said he had been able to remain uncontroversial by focusing on policy rather than politics. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Adam Yip

“I will never get another opportunity to serve like this,” he said.

“Every day is precious.”

Mr Dominello is the third MP to announce he is not standing at the next election, following Riverstone MP Kevin Conolly and Vaucluse MP Gabrielle Upton.

The announcement follows on from a turbulent few weeks in state politics after the resignation of NSW Deputy Liberal leader Stuart Ayres and the ousting of Small Business and Fair Trading Minister Eleni Petinos.