On Tuesday morning, former NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet took the reigns as Premier of the state, after Gladys Berejiklian announced her shock resignation on Friday. So, now that Dom’s in charge, here’s some background information on the man, whose political rap sheet has been dredged up by many people on social media, giving us a glimpse into what he’ll be like in the top job.
So Who Is Dom Perrottet?
Despite being a 39-year-old bloke from Pennant Hills – really shaving him in as an older millennial – Dom Perrottet is a conservative, devout Catholic. He’s one of 13 children, and a father of six kids of his own with wife, Helen Perrottet.
In 2005, he was the president of the NSW Young Liberals, graduated from Sydney University in commerce and law, and worked for a bit as a solicitor. In 2011 he entered state politics at the age of 29, and now sits in the NSW Liberal’s far-right faction.
He’s also backed by John Howard who said he’s the “best person for the job” as Premier, which says it all, really.
What Are His Politics Like?
As Perrottet thrust himself into the political limelight over the weekend, people have shone spotlights on beliefs he’s publicly held – including his support of Donald Trump in 2016, and specifically, a Facebook post which called for a “conservative spring” upon Trump’s election win.
In the same post, he also said that standing for free speech is not bigotry, supporting stronger national borders isn’t racist, and questioning “man-made climate change” is not scepticism.
Perrottet has previously pushed back against Victoria’s Catholic confessional laws – which require priests to break confessional seals to report cases of abuse – saying that such seals are “sacrosanct… no matter who or no matter what sins are confessed”.
Referring to Victoria’s law requiring priests to breach confessional seal and report cases of abuse, next potential NSW Premier @Dom_Perrottet says catholic confessional seal is sacrosanct “no matter who and no matter what sins are confessed.” #nswpol #Gladys #GladysBerejiklian pic.twitter.com/wgYF8mIwMg
— Lyndon Hall (@L_Hall91) October 2, 2021
In 2019, Perrottet voted against the decriminalisation of abortions in NSW, saying that the “right to life is paramount” and said he couldn’t support laws that stopped “the beating heart of an unborn child”.
As a staunch Catholic from a large family, his personal stance is unsurprising, but it’s still pretty shit to know he voted against the legislation.
and he’s pro-life. Despite @Dom_Perrottet voting against the NSW Abortion Bill in 2019, it passed with 59 in favour and 31 against. If he’s the next premier, he will never have my vote. pic.twitter.com/mhUoQzI9Mi
— sabrina⁷ ???? ???? (@thewildc4rd) October 1, 2021
Perrottet was behind the attempt at replacing the WorkCover compensation scheme with something called iCare back in 2015. This venture buckled hard after a joint investigation between The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, and the ABC’s Four Corner program, which uncovered the scheme had underpaid up to 52,000 sick and injured Australians approximately $80m in compensation.
He’s also publicly criticised a North Sydney pre school – who presented a petition of over 10,000 to NSW Parliament in 2019 asking for the Aboriginal flag to be flown on top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge permanently – accusing the group of using children as “political pawns”.
Coming from the position of the NSW Treasurer, the ABC reported that Dom Perrottet is expected to lead the state with an “economy-first mantra” despite the health care system facing immense pressure as NSW attempts to emerge from the COVID pandemic.