NSW election: Berejiklian to plug cabinet gaps

Another spot in Gladys Berejiklian’s cabinet opened up yesterday, as a second minister quit just days after the state election.

Gladys Berejiklian finishes an interview with Seven. Picture: Tracey Nearmy

Another spot in Gladys Berejiklian’s cabinet opened yesterday, as a second minister quit just days after the state election.

Minister for Mental Health Tanya Davies announced late yesterday she had decided to spend more time with her young children and did not wish to be considered for a role in cabinet.

Her move came after Nationals deputy leader Niall Blair revealed on Sunday he would retire from the ministry and leave parliament.

The workaholic Premier yesterday got back to business at the government’s offices at 52 Martin Place in Sydney’s CBD, working to reshape her cabinet as counting continued in key seats.

But first, she had to field the ­important questions on breakfast radio: about her “hot sister Mary”.

While Ms Berejiklian might be the sensible oldest sister, younger sister Mary brought the sparkle to the Liberals’ election night function on Saturday in a shimmering suit.

On Sunday Mary stepped out in a plunging neckline to drink ­coffee, upstaging sisters Gladys and Rita in Willoughby in the heart of the Premier’s Sydney electorate. During the campaign, she created a stir with strong words for online trolls criticising her big ­sister, telling one to “grow some pubes”.

But now it was time for Mary to “tone it down”, the Liberal leader told radio host Kyle Sandilands.

“I’m sending her off to retirement now that the election is over,” Ms Berejiklian said.

The Premier’s clear message was that she would be back to work for the ­people of NSW.

“What our campaign in NSW demonstrated is the community rewards people who work hard, who focus on the community and who have a plan for the future,” she told Seven’s Sunrise program.

The Nationals’ poor showing in the bush was a “cry for help” from communities who had been hit hard by the drought, she said.

She said her victory as the state’s first popularly elected ­female leader was “still sinking in”.

However, she wanted people to know, that regardless of their background and circumstances, they could “aspire to do anything in our state”.

“That’s the kind of state I want into the future ... a place of opportunity,” she said.