NSW election 2023: Brad Hazzard compares former boss Gladys Berejiklian to ‘Mother Teresa’

Former Health Secretary Brad Hazzard compared Gladys Berejiklian to Mother Teresa when he announced he would be retiring after more than three decades.

Mr Hazzard, who will not be contesting his Wakehurst seat in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, made the comparison as polls closed for the NSW state election.

“I have to tell you, I was 100 percent behind Dom, but when you actually get behind Gladys Berejiklian, Mother Teresa, she’s hard to follow,” he said.

“And then, to really establish himself and then be able to do what he needs to do, it was really challenging. But I think he did a great job.’

Hazzard is just days away from his final retirement from politics after serving his Northern Beaches community for 32 years.

He told Radio Northern Beaches that the pandemic had taken a huge toll on him.

Mr Hazzard and Ms Berejiklian worked closely together during the Covid pandemic (pictured in 2021)

“I think it’s fair to say that after 32 years I might have another four years left in me, but Covid really – like so many people – has had an impact on me,” he said.

“The past three years have been more like 10 years. The idea of ​​going back to work in the Care portfolio – in any portfolio, really – is a bit too much to handle.

“I always felt I would never go to an election unless I knew I was going to be there for the full four years. But I just wasn’t sure I had that in me.’

As of 8pm on Saturday night, Independent candidate Michael Regan was leading in what is expected to be a close battle for the Wakehurst seat.

He had already won 51.2 percent of the bi-party elected vote with 13.1 percent of the votes counted.

Wakehurst’s Liberal candidate Toby Williams won 33 percent of the vote.

Mr Regan, believed to be popular with locals, vowed to return ‘balance’ to Parliament outside the voting booths on Saturday.

“We need to figure out what’s going on there, there’s the issue of Lizard Rock locally, a private hospital that’s not working, there’s so many things,” he told reporters.

“But overall, we have gambling reforms that need to be fixed. A lot is happening and I want to be part of that change.”

More to come.