Former NSW Roads Minister Duncan Gay announced his retirement from the Legislative Council of NSW after 29 years at the National’s Central Council meeting in Broken Hill this afternoon (Thursday).
Mr Gay joined the NSW Nationals in 1974 and was made a life member in 2011. He spent six years as the state’s Roads Minister between 2011 and 2017 but lost his job during NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s Cabinet reshuffle in January. Mr Gay signalled at the time that he was likely to quit Parliament ‘sooner rather than later’.
He was also the Leader of the Nationals in the NSW Legislative Council.
Mr Gay said: “Since becoming Minister in 2011, I have spearheaded major motorway projects in Sydney like WestConnex and NorthConnex, championed movement of freight from ‘paddock to port’ and driven key road safety initiatives.
“As a young grazier from Crookwell, I would have never dreamed of being one of the state’s longest serving Ministers for Roads. I could not be prouder of what I have achieved in my portfolio over six years.”
Mr Gay said he had delivered the M5 West Widening project, mandated flashing lights at every NSW school and persuaded people to wear life jackets while out on the water.
NSW Nationals paid tribute to Mr Gay and said he had delivered around $38 billion of investment for projects to country NSW – almost two-thirds of the total amount for the state.
NSW Nationals Party Chairman Bede Burke said country people had a lot to thank him for.
“Right across NSW, drivers only have to look out their car windows to see all of the roads under construction – from Mulgoa to Molong to Moree.
“Duncan has been a firm and unshakeable figure in the Nationals for more than 40 years,” Mr Burke said. The lives of people in regional NSW are markedly better because of Duncan and the party is supremely grateful for his lifetime of service.”
Mr Burke credited the former Roads Minister for driving infrastructure funding programs such as Fixing Country Roads and Bridges for the Bush.
The politician’s last sitting day will be June 22.
More to follow.
The post NSW Nationals’ leading light reaches the end of the road appeared first on Government News.
source Government News http://ift.tt/2rhuinz
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