Nationals MP Troy Grant becomes deputy premier of New South Wales
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Version 0 of 1. A former police officer, Troy Grant, is the new deputy premier of NSW. Grant, 44, who has been a minister for six months, was elected unopposed on Thursday by his Nationals colleagues as leader of the party, the Nationals whip, John Williams, said. Under the coalition agreement between the Liberal Party and the Nationals, Grant also becomes deputy premier. The positions were vacated by Andrew Stoner who announced on Wednesday he was retiring at the March election for family reasons. Grant’s elevation was all but sealed after Adrian Piccoli said on Wednesday night he would not run. Piccoli will remain deputy leader of the Nationals. Grant, who entered parliament in 2011, was elevated to hospitality, gaming and racing minister by the premier, Mike Baird, in his April reshuffle. He served in the police force for more than two decades – and twice received commendations for courage – before going into politics. Grant, who is the member for Dubbo, pledged to work his “backside off” in his new roles. “I’ve always lived my life on three principles: honesty, integrity and hard work,” he said after the party room meeting. “Those three principles are the ones that I’ll be taking into this very privileged role of leading the NSW Nationals.” |