The New South Wales transport minister, David Elliott, has lamented factionalism on all sides of politics and ruled out a tilt at Canberra after confirming he would quit politics to avoid a preselection battle.
After months of speculation about his future, Elliott, who also serves as veterans minister, announced he would leave at the upcoming election.
His seat of Baulkham Hills will be abolished at the 2023 election and Elliott did not have the support for a preselection battle in nearby Castle Hill. He had already ruled out running in his renamed and reshaped home seat of Kellyville to avoid competing against factional ally and current Castle Hill MP, Ray Williams.
“I made some inquiries over the course of the last couple of days and it was quite clear that there was no support for me in Castle Hill and I accept that,” he said on Sunday.
“Contemporary politics is transactional and I accept that. You can’t come into this game and be so thin skinned that you spit the dummy just because a deal is done or [a faction] plays out against you.”
Reflecting on comments from the former prime minister John Howard, Elliott said political parties had, to the disappointment of himself and the general public, become ruled by factionalism.
“Unfortunately on occasions they’re built around personalities and on this occasion, for some strange reason, my personality didn’t win out,” he said.
Elliott is the latest in a string of NSW ministers and MPs leaving before the next state poll. The customer service minister, Victor Dominello, the infrastructure minister, Rob Stokes, and the corrections minister, Geoff Lee, have also announced they will leave at the election.
The premier, Dominic Perrottet, said he would have preferred for Elliott to remain in the position over a candidate from his own hard-right faction.
“I spoke to David late last night who advised me of his decision. I encouraged him to stay,” he said.
The premier dismissed suggestions that there was an issue with the number of senior members of the government leaving at the election and said it was a “natural part of politics”.
“It is important that new blood comes through,” he said. “It’s good for renewal.”
He said he would consider shuffling the cabinet “in due course”.
Elliott has also served as the police, counter-terrorism and emergency services minister.
In a statement published to LinkedIn on Saturday night, Elliott thanked the people of Baulkham Hills, police and corrections officers, volunteer and salaried fire fighters, emergency services and transport personnel and his family, including his kids and wife, Nicole.
“Nicole and I moved to The Hills shire when I was discharged from the Army more than 20 years ago and we immediately felt welcomed,” he said.
“Whilst the boys and I have always had a good giggle at the emotion and thought invested into the ‘constructive feedback’ I’ve sometimes attracted, I know Nicole often took it personally. Her loyalty has been inspirational.”
Elliott said he would spend some time playing golf before entering the private sector, ruling out a federal run.
The divisive MP has found himself in the centre of multiple scandals, including when he went to bed on the eve of the Sydney train shutdown at the start of the year.
He has also overseen a decline in the relationship between the RTBU and the government over pay and conditions. Earlier in the year, Elliott said the union had “shat on me from a great height”.
While police minister he was investigated over a road rage incident where he told a P-plate driver he “worked for the cops”. He denied grabbing the 17-year-old driver’s arm during the heated argument on a Sydney road but admitted he claimed to work for the police.
He was also known as a political operative willing to speak his mind and go against members of his own party. Elliott said he would not spend the next five months “throwing spears”.
“It’s not in my best interest to go and settle scores,” he said.
“When you retire from politics, you need more friends than enemies.”
The opposition leader, Chris Minns, praised Elliott for his service to the state, making particular note of the work he had done in the veterans portfolio.
He said the senior government member’s departure was a sign that the government’s “best days are not in front of them”.
“Their most senior politicians are not recontesting and as a result, we’ve got a lot of rookies coming through the system,” he said.
