GREG Aplin has once again missed out on a ministerial position in the NSW government, but the Albury MP isn’t surprised.
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Mr Aplin said he had not been expecting to join the ministry, nor was there “any suggestion that was case”.
“It leaves me free to concentrate on advancing our causes (in Albury),” he told The Border Mail upon his return to the electorate last night.
He had been in Sydney for Premier Mike Baird’s announcements of the cabinet and ministry reshuffle.
That included shifting Gladys Berejiklian from transport to the treasury, making her the first female Treasurer in NSW history.
Likewise, former community services minister Gabrielle Upton has become the first female Attorney-General.
Mr Aplin has previously served as opposition spokesman for housing and for mental health, but has yet to be rewarded with a ministry position in government.
Yesterday, he maintained it was not his key focus.
“My intention is to deliver more for the electorate, and the irony is you can do more to advance those causes as a local member,” he said.
“I want to do the best possible work for this area and my intention is to continue serving the electorate — and there’s a lot more to do yet.”
Mr Baird described the reshuffle as “a cabinet for today and tomorrow”.
Nationals MP for Dubbo and Deputy Premier Troy Grant, a former police officer, will be Police and Justice Minister, while Nationals MP for Murrumbidgee Adrian Piccoli has held on to the education portfolio.
Andrew Constance and Brad Hazzard are the big losers, with Mr Constance demoted from treasury to transport and Mr Hazzard from attorney-general to family and community services.
Police minister Stuart Ayres has been shifted to trade and tourism, while Jai Rowell, Matthew Mason-Cox, Katrina Hodgkinson and Kevin Humphries were dumped altogether.
