Andrew Stoner, the New South Wales deputy premier, has announced he will quit parliament at the next election for family reasons.
Stoner, who is leader of the state’s Nationals party, said the “very difficult decision” came after recent time away with his wife and three children.
“I became aware of the seriousness of the issues with which my wife has been dealing,” he said, adding that she was facing “health and other issues”.
“She asked me to bring forward my plans for retirement and I didn’t hesitate.”
He said politics had been “very tough” on his family. “Last year I spent around 250 days out of that year away from home,” he said.
“That coincided with some very difficult family issues that have been faced pretty much by wife and three children back at home.
“I can longer expect or ask my wife Cathy to face these issues alone,” he said.
Stoner, who has held the north coast seat of Oxley since 1999, said he had no other job lined up, nor was he leaving “under a cloud”. “This is about putting my family first,” he said.
He will step down as Nationals leader after 11 years on Thursday, but will hold on to his portfolios, which include trade and investment, regional infrastructure, and tourism, until next year’s state election in March.
A new Nationals leader and deputy premier would be elected in a ballot on Thursday, he said.
The state premier, Mike Baird, said Stoner had been “a great leader of the NSW Nationals, a fine deputy premier and above all a passionate advocate for regional NSW”.
“He goes with our best wishes,” he said.
