Australian of the Year nominee: NSW Premier Chris Minns’ historic election win

Chris Minns pulled NSW Labor out of 12 years in Opposition in March.

Chris Minns has been nominated for The Australian’s Australian of the Year for his tireless work for the people of NSW. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Monique Harmer

NSW Premier Chris Minns ­secured a historic election win in March, pulling the state’s Labor Party out of the shadows after 12 years of Coalition ­governments.

On becoming the state’s 47th Premier, Mr Minns said: “Labor is ready and this state is ready for a fresh start. After 12 years in opposition, I want to say to the people who voted for Labor or voted for the Liberals and Nationals or voted for independents or minor party candidates today: we’ve been elected by the people of this state but we will govern for everyone in NSW.”

Mr Minns has been nominated for The Australian’s Australian of the Year for his tireless work for the people of NSW in opposition and since becoming Premier.

Mr Minns, who was the member for Kogarah since 2015 and took over the Labor leadership in June 2021, was widely praised by close friends and associates for his surprising victory.

Anthony Albanese said at the time that the people of NSW “have come together to choose a better future” and that Mr Minns embodied “all that is best about the Australian Labor Party”.

After five years of budget deficits under the Liberals and Nationals, the Minns government promised NSW its first budget surplus, $844m, by 2024-25.

The Premier received heavy criticism for the government’s handling of the Sydney Opera House protest on October 9 after its decision to light the Opera House sails in the colours of the Israeli flag in solidarity with the Jewish state two days after Hamas’s deadly attacks, and ignore warnings from police regarding the protest.

Mr Minns admitted his mistake at budget estimates, acknowledging he failed to act on police warnings prior to the protest taking place

He has since emerged as Labor’s strongest voice against anti-Semitism, tightening laws against hate speech, threats and incitement to violence in NSW.

The Premier hasn’t backed away from holding the federal government to account on several occasions, recently calling for more federal funding of police and infrastructure.

The Australian is inviting its readers to nominate those among us who have made a difference, triumphed against the odds, helped others or led by their ­actions in 2023. The award will be announced in The Weekend Australian on January 20.

We encourage our readers to put in a nomination for The Australian’s Australian of the Year, which was first won in 1971 by economist HC “Nugget” Coombs. Prominent Australians can be nominated by filling out the form above, or sending an email to [e-mail]. Nominations close on Friday, January 19.