O’Farrell resigns

A thread for discussion of today’s shock resignation of New South Wales Premier Barry O’Farrell.

New South Wales will shortly have its fifth Premier in seven years following the bombshell resignation of Barry O’Farrell, who was today embarrassed by the emergence of a card in which he thanked Australian Water Holdings boss Nick Di Girolamo for a $3000 bottle of wine he yesterday denied having received. O’Farrell is the state’s second Liberal Premier to have been brought down by the exertions of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, Nick Greiner having fallen foul of an adverse ruling in 1992 involving a job offer to Liberal-turned-independent MP Terry Metherell. It now falls to the Liberal Party to find a replacement: without being too aware of the daily machinations of New South Wales politics, my immediate presumption was that the Treasurer, Mike Baird, would be the front-runner. However, I am seeing Gladys Berejiklian, Andrew Constance, Brad Hazzard and Jillian Skinner mentioned around the place.

Author: William Bowe

William Bowe is a Perth-based election analyst and occasional teacher of political science. His blog, The Poll Bludger, has existed in one form or another since 2004, and is one of the most heavily trafficked websites on Australian politics.

721 comments on “O’Farrell resigns”

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  2. Abbott’s book, in a subchapter titled ”Kings in Their Own Cars”, …. laid out the case for major new investment in motorways in Australian cities and less investment in ”inefficient, over-manned, union-dominated, government-run train and bus systems”.

    Partly this was because cars facilitated a sense of personal mastery public transport never would. ”The humblest person is king in his own car,” Abbott wrote.

    Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/its-pedal-to-the-metal-with-plans-that-matter-to-abbott-20130919-2u2m2.html#ixzz2z0kaIo2e

  3. [He declared Thomson and Slipper guilty before they were even charged.
    ]

    Then put massive pressure on police to investigate and charge to prove he was right would be much more efficient to give him all the powers so he could save all that time.

  6. Presumably Abbott’s big announcement on roads in western Sydney became a fizzer.

    Maybe that’s why he became somewhat unhinged when talking about O’Farrell and abusing the reporter.

  7. WWP
    [No he really really doesn’t – occasionally he does the pox on both your houses piece to build credibility with the gullible which he needs at times like these.]
    Reminds me of some people here on PB. Must be working from the same playbook :P.

  8. Can’t believe how hard Abbott has gone in to bat for O’Farrell.

    The guy flat out LIED ti ICAC… and Abbott and others are lauding him as ‘honorable’ ‘decent’ etc.

    It really is a bizzarro world these days…

  10. [ The whole AWH thing is looking to me like Eddie O had stumbled upon a Liberal party midnight feast, and decided to invite himself to the table. ]

    That’s probably the best summation i have seen of this whole situation. What i cant work out is how the Libs seem to think that the various inquiries going on at State and Federal level are NOT going to snare some of their own and seem completely unprepared when they do.

    They have the Batts inquiry under-way which is pure politics. Then the RC into Construction Unions which from previous experience will almost certainly show corruption on the Industry side among people who may well, just possibly, by likely to have made substantial donations to the Liberals??

    And the NSW ICAC hasn’t even started the real roasting of Sinodos and the Federal Libs who may have benefited from this 8×5 slush fund. FFS, they are in for a world of hurt over the next year or so on that.

    It actually makes it a good time for the ALP to be seen to be doing something serious about reform of their party structure. The Libs money, patronage, god, and corruption model looks like it is coming unstuck.

  13. Gladys Berejiklian is a moderate and will not be far enough right for Murdoch.

    Still, NSW Liberal Governments (and Liberal Oppositions) have tended to be moderate in recent decades – basically since the end of the Askin era in the mid 70s, e.g. – Greiner, Fahey, O’Farrell and the majority of the numerous short-term Liberal leaders during long periods of Labor Governments. The party hasn’t been taken over by the hard right in NSW, unlike its Federal counterpart.

  14. [ When did the PM get the right to declare people innocent if a crime before they’ve even been charged with one. ]

    Abbott already reserves the right to declare people guilty. It’s only fair he should be able to declare them innocent as well.

  16. [Abbott, in his press conference, proving once again what a filthy shameless glass-jawed hypocrite he is.]

    You are a little too kind but no doubt your free speech was limited by the moderation rules. Mumble had a ball with that topic and the slightly insane commenters he has.

  19. [You are a little too kind but no doubt your free speech was limited by the moderation rules.]

    I try to respect Mr Bowe’s rules.

    [Mumble had a ball with that topic and the slightly insane commenters he has.]

    Gotta a link?

  20. Thanks for the link upthread to Abbotts presser. He is going to have all kinds of bother if the press refuses to let this go.

    What does he reckon people will think? If the Premier resigns over misleading a corruption inquiry of course people will tassume he and his Govt were behaving corruptly or else he would not have told porkies to the inquiry and would not have had to resign.

    So given you WANTED to talk about all this expensive infrastructure, and how the private sector would be building Badgerys Creek, and how the state Premier has just resigned over a matter to do with the private sector wanting to do infrastructure (and rip everyone off while funneling $ to the Liberal party), i think her question was completely topical and legitimate.

    Join the fracking dots here Tony, you moron.

    How hard do you think it will be for 7:30 report to get a Liberal pollie on for an interview tonight?? 🙂

  23. How hard do you think it will be for 7:30 report to get a Liberal pollie on for an interview tonight?? 🙂

    Greiner might do it.

  24. [ Abbott, in his press conference, proving once again what a filthy shameless glass-jawed hypocrite he is. ]

    Agreed. Just when you thought he couldn’t fwark things up anymore he pulls one like that. Peta will spank him no doubt.

  29. There’s just time for an enterprising pollster (probably a robo-pollster) to do voting intention and who should be next premier, for release before Easter.

  33. Terrible presser from Abbott.

    And what was BOF thinking when he lied to ICAC? Is admitting you got a bottle of Grange worth losing your career over?

  35. Abbott’s clumsy black-is-white oratory is not a patch on that of his smooth-talking svengali.

    In 2003, Howard said:

    “Iraq has a usable chemical and biological weapons capability which has included recent production of chemical and biological agents; Iraq continues to work on developing nuclear weapons. All key aspects – research and development, production and weaponisation – of Iraq’s offensive biological weapons program are active and most elements are larger and more advanced than they were before the Gulf War in 1991.”

    Perhaps these lies will one day be replayed in The
    Hague.

    In 2004, Howard said:

    “This election, ladies and gentlemen, will be about trust…”

  37. BOF just had to be lying when he said he didn’t remember the gift.

    You can’t forget receiving the gift, ringing to thank for it and hand writing a letter of thanks.

    No-one could forget all three.

    Personally I don’t think it’s a good result for NSW as they will probably get someone worse but he had to go.

  39. [Abbott, in his press conference, proving once again what a filthy shameless glass-jawed hypocrite he is.]

    Coincidence – I just posted that interview on my Facebook timeline and described Abbott as a “thin skinned glass jawed hypocrite”.

    Journalists’ union should demand an apology from him.

  40. So now we have a pissed off Nicky G running around town holding dozens of secrets about the liberal party. I hope that the ICAC tracks him down and offers him immunity.

  42. [You can’t forget receiving the gift, ringing to thank for it and hand writing a letter of thanks.

    No-one could forget all three.

    Personally I don’t think it’s a good result for NSW as they will probably get someone worse but he had to go.]

    And what did he do with it, surely he doesn’t just put out for dinner that night – it would be cared for or used at a birthday or special event.

  43. “Margie, Margie, those bottles of Grange in the cellar…pour them down the sink, now…Don’t argue, just do it.”

  44. I still recall someone at my dinner party scoffing a gift to me of Wolf Blass Grey Label Cab Sav. vintage.

    Some 15 years ago.

  45. Windhover@5

    Fatty O’Barrel concedes he must have received the bottle of ’59 Grange but has no memory of it and says that it is just a massive memory fail.

    Sounds to me like he drank the bottle . . . on his own.

    Yet only yesterday he told ICAC –

    [ 2:53pm: On the explosive subject of a $3000 bottle of wine allegedly couriered to his house at the behest of Australian Water boss Nick Di Girolamo, O’Farrell says he’s “certain I would remember receiving a bottle of Penfolds Grange, certainly one from my birth year”.

    “I’m no wine connoisseur. I don’t drink a lot these days]

  46. All this ICAC stuff is a long way from Sandgropia, but we did have Nahan the new Treasurer trying to defend his up-coming budget and conceding that “electricity bills have gone up by 80% in WA”. What is interesting is that he did not mention the CT once.

    He is refuting the Liberal election promise the electricity price increases will be held to the level of inflation, but hey, what’s one more broken Liberal promise among dozens?

    Meanwhile, Steve Chase (is it?) former ABC political commentator for NSW has been on air locally to explain things to us in Sandgropia.

    I don’t know what Sky and 2GB are saying, but all Chase could talk about was the likelihood of a “new” generation leader for the Libs in NSW.

    I know nothing of his political colours but he was not the slightest bit interested in talking about any of the political outcomes for the Liberals other than them “perhaps taking a bit of hit in the polls” but reassuring the masses that this resignation would not bring the Liberals undone.

    He sounded as it he should have been on Sky or 2GB.

    No talk of the ‘Liberal Brand’ or ‘Implications for the Federal leadership of the Liberal party’ and no ‘this is what the Leader of the Opposition says’ ….all the stuff Labor faced not so long ago.

  48. Ahhh NSW politics- corrupt from councils to feds- both major parties wallow in the trough- it’s been that way since 1788

    As for BOF- probably thought he had some sort of insurance, let’s hope we don’t get some right wing abbottophile as a replacement.

  49. I recall when employed as a secretary adviser having to send back a bottle of brandy given to a Minster by a developer for Christmas.

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