‘Closing a chapter’: Dominic Perrottet resigns from NSW parliament for Washington DC job

Dominic Perrottet says he will never shake the image of a huge queue of people outside a Centrelink office in Ryde. It was the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and the then-treasurer was heading home from Sydney Olympic Park after a daily crisis cabinet meeting. The enormity of the challenge the Coalition government was facing floored him.

“I had never seen anything like it in my life and I realised the magnitude of the problem that we needed to help solve. It always weighed really heavily on me that people were losing their jobs,” Perrottet said.

Former premier Dominic Perrottet at home with wife Helen and the couple’s seven children. Credit: Wolter Peeters

The pandemic marked the most challenging period of his political career, which began when he won the seat of Castle Hill in 2011 and will end when he delivers his valedictory speech as the member for Epping in August. On Friday, the 41-year-old Perrottet announced his resignation from parliament after 13 years, and later revealed he would relocate his family of nine to Washington DC after being appointed the US head of corporate and external relations for resources giant BHP.

Perrottet became the youngest premier in NSW history when the then 39-year-old secured the Liberal Party leadership following the sudden October 2021 resignation of Gladys Berejiklian.

But he says he has never wanted a decades-long stint in Macquarie Street and feels now – nearly 18 months on from the Coalition’s 2023 election defeat – is the time for something new.

“I had a great opportunity for 13 years to serve the people in different capacities and these jobs are difficult jobs,” he said. “John Howard was right when he said it’s a vocation to be in public life and public service, but they’re not forever jobs. You’re always just passing through.”

Nonetheless, on the way through Perrottet has faced some significant tests.

His political baptism of fire came when he was treasurer and a scandal involving the public insurer icare engulfed his office. Icare was Perrottet’s baby and he maintains that the policy of separating WorkCover NSW into three agencies, which included establishing icare, was the right thing to do. But he says he now sees that the execution was flawed and as the scandal deepened, which included revelations that icare had underpaid as many as 53,000 injured workers, he feared the saga could end him.

His highly competent chief of staff Nigel Freitas fell on his sword; Perrottet survived. Ultimately, he says, it was the making of him.

“I learnt that implementation is important,” he said. “This is not the private sector, where you just drive through the change in the interests of either shareholders or in the interests of the business. There is public scrutiny, and while you believe what you are doing is right, ultimately, implementation and public confidence is incredibly crucial.”

Perrottet meets locals in the flood-ravaged town of Eugowra in 2022.Credit: Rhett Wyman

“Going through that made me a better leader and made me think more critically about things I did in the future.” He points to his reform of stamp duty, which gave first home buyers the choice to pay an upfront sum or an annual land tax, as an example. NSW Labor has since scrapped that policy, but Perrottet insists stamp duty reform remains inevitable.

Pursuing a cashless gaming card for poker machines in the face of extreme opposition from pubs and clubs was another. NSW Labor refused to back Perrottet’s policy before the election but is now conducting a trial into the technology.

Another big test came much later in his political career when, only two months before the 2023 election, Perrottet was forced to admit that he had worn a Nazi uniform to his fancy dress 21st birthday party. Disgruntled Liberal insiders claimed to have photographic proof and Perrottet knew he had to own the mistake. However, if his party enemies thought it would end him, it had the opposite effect. After delivering a public apology, he was humbled by the experience and forgiven by the group he so feared offending.

“You can’t be held for the sins of the past and ultimately, I think everybody makes mistakes in life. And that was a mistake as a young person at a different time,” he said. “To be frank, I was more concerned about the Jewish community who I have always been an incredibly strong supporter of and I was personally touched by their sense of forgiveness.”

However, it was the pandemic that was by far the biggest test of his political career. As well as job losses, Perrottet says he was very concerned about children not being at school. He received “very hostile correspondence” as he worked to get kids back into classrooms “on day one of term one” after the Omicron wave of COVID-19 in late 2021, which saw him dubbed “Domicron” for his pursuit of opening up the economy.

Perrottet worked closely with the then-Victorian premier Daniel Andrews during the pandemic. Credit: David Crosling

The closure of schools early in the pandemic was “the right decision when you don’t know the information”. “Once you get further information, and you obtain that, then you need to pivot the policy settings,” he said.

“What was really concerning me was that, yes, the number one responsibility of any government is to protect its citizens on the health side. But there were unintended consequences that were just as substantive.

“I was particularly concerned about mental health in young children, and the educational outcomes for not being in school.” Perrottet stuck to his promise, and ensured children were back in the classrooms on the first day of term one 2022.

Perrottet maintains that he has “closed the chapter” on politics. He has no regrets and “feels proud to have made a small contribution to a very good government”.

The Perrottet family at home in north-west Sydney.Credit: Wolter Peeters

He says he is proud to have taken risks and doggedly pursued policies he knew were right.

“Ultimately, it’s the role of the public service to drive and implement the ideas and policies of the elected officials. I wouldn’t have it any other way. And that means you’re not always going to get it right,” Perrottet said.

“But I’d much prefer in public life to make a mistake doing something than make the mistake of doing nothing at all and being a passenger in political life.”

Perrottet says he and Helen were excited about moving to Washington DC for the new BHP role. “Resources are hugely important to Australia and NSW, and BHP is a great Australian and NSW success story.”

Perrottet will deliver a valedictory speech when parliament resumes in August and will formally resign on August 11.

His departure sets up byelections for both his seat of Epping and former treasurer Matt Kean’s seat of Hornsby later this year.

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.