NSW election 2015: Ex-banker Berejiklian now runs state budget

Gladys Berejiklian was just a few years into a promising banking career when she entered politics at 31.

Gladys Berejiklian

Gladys Berejiklian sometimes ­regrets that her opportunity to enter politics came at 31, only five years into a promising career with the Commonwealth Bank.

She was in charge of retaining millions of the bank’s younger customers, and got to know ­people who would go on to senior roles in the big four banks, including future Westpac chief executive Gail Kelly.

If she’d gone on to run the bank — admittedly a big “if” — she would have been in charge of an institution with $22 billion in annual income and assets of $700bn. Instead, Ms Berejiklian now finds herself in arguably an even bigger role after she was named yesterday as the first ­female treasurer of NSW, in charge of a $70bn budget in a state with an economy worth $500bn and growing. Perhaps appropriately, she’ll occupy the old offices of a Commonwealth Bank subsidiary, Colonial First State Bank.

“I had a lot of good mentors in the bank that were a lot more senior than I was,” she said. “They ­always used to say, ‘You’ll be up there one day, we’ll be coming to talk to you’. It was only five years but it was the best five years training I could hope to get.”

It was good experience that Ms Berejiklian has used in trying to instil a customer focus to the notoriously insular transport ­bureaucracy as minister for transport in the Coalition’s first term in government.

She leaves with the $8bn North West rail line well under way, but before the government starts an even more ambitious rail line from Chatswood under ­Sydney Harbour to the city, ­although as Treasurer she is certain to keep a close eye on the project’s finances.

As Treasurer, her first major job — after bringing down the budget in June — will be to sell the state’s electricity businesses, aiming to get the projected $13bn sale price in the face of big revenue cuts demanded by the industry’s regulator.

Ms Berejiklian doesn’t think being the first female treasurer holds great significance. “I was the first female transport minister and nobody really asked me, so I guess I’ve been two firsts,” said the 44-year-old daughter of Armen­ian immigrants. “I’m just surprised it’s taken this long. So I’m glad to be there, but it would have been nice if it didn’t have to be 2015 before it happened.”

The Baird’s government new cabinet has a distinct female flavour. Gabrielle Upton, another women with a background in banking, continues her upward trajectory, becoming the state’s first female Attorney-General. Mike Baird said he was particularly proud to appoint the first ­female Treasurer and Attorney-General.

He also appointed Pru Goward to the role of Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, as well as Minister for Women and Assistant Minister for Health, positioning her to take over Health from another senior female, Jillian Skinner, who at 70 and after two decades in the portfolio is almost certainly in her last term. Andrew Constance, the former treasurer, got the consolation prize of Ms Berejiklian’s high-profile transport ministry, as well as Minister for Infrastructure.

Mr Baird also put his stamp of authority on the cabinet, dropping two members of the Right faction, Matthew Mason Cox and Jai Rowell, who defied the Premier’s preferred choice of Dai Le for an upper house spot. He promoted another member of the Right, David Elliott, to cabinet as well as increasing Anthony Roberts responsibilities, adding Industry to Energy and Resources.

Along with Rob Stokes, the new Minister for Planning, Mr Roberts will be given responsibility to sort out the land use conflicts over coalmining and coal-seam gas. Nationals leader Troy Grant, a former senior police officer, will take the sensitive police ministry, and will almost immediately have to begin the search for a new police commissioner, as the incumbent Andrew Scipione is expected to finish in September. Mr Grant will also be the Minister for Justice, Arts and Racing.

Former police minister Stuart Ayres will retain his Sport portfolio but add Trade, Investment, Tourism and Major Events, which the Premier has signalled will be a major focus of his second term as he tries to grab jobs and events from Labor governments in Queensland and Victoria.

The Education Minister Adrian Piccoli survived a number of challengers in the Nationals party room to remain deputy leader. But he loses the controversial TAFE part of his portfolio, which will go to the Nationals’ John Barilaro, who will have the Regional Development, Skills, and Small Business portfolios.

Mr Baird dropped the idea of ministers for regions of the state, delegating this to parliamentary secretaries, which have grown to a bloated 16.

The government’s position has strengthened in several in-doubt seats, but a recount looms in Gosford, where the sitting Liberal Chris Holstein is just 20 votes ahead of his Labor challenger Kathy Smith. In The Entrance, also on the state’s central coast, the Liberals are now only 70 votes behind Labor. In Lismore, the ­Nationals’ Thomas George is 300 votes ahead of the Greens’ Adam Guise.