State Member for Parramatta Geoff Lee will not recontest his seat at the March State Election.
He made the shock announcement this afternoon.
“It has been an honour and a privilege to serve as the Member for Parramatta, but now I must put my family first and will retire from NSW Parliament at the next election,” he said.
“I’m incredibly proud of the transformation that has taken place in Parramatta during my time as MP. We have delivered a $1b upgrade to Westmead Hospital, started a $600m upgrade to Westmead Children’s Hospital, the city-changing $3b Parramatta Light Rail, $300m CommBank Stadium, the State’s first vertical high school, Arthur Phillip High School, the $40m Bayanami Public School, along with upgrades to Parramatta Public School, Parramatta West Public School, Parramatta East Public School, Carlingford West Public School and Cumberland High School.
“I will continue to be a passionate advocate for Powerhouse Parramatta, the single biggest investment in a cultural institution since the building of the Sydney Opera House, because Western Sydney residents also deserve access to world class arts and culture. I’m also proud of my advocacy for the North Parramatta Heritage Precinct which I hope also expands arts and culture throughout our city.”
Mr Lee said he was honoured to have been the first Member of the Legislative Assembly with Chinese heritage.
“The NSW Government has a strong record of delivering for the people of NSW and I will work to support the re-election of the Perrottet-Toole Government,” he said.
“I’d like to thank my hardworking and loyal staff for their service. Above all, I thank the people of Parramatta for having entrusted me to represent them for the past 12 years.”
Premier Dominic Perrottet praised Mr Lee, saying he had made an “important contribution” to Parramatta and NSW.
“As Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education, Geoff introduced a number of initiatives to ensure TAFE remains a corner-stone of the NSW Government’s plan to boost jobs right across NSW,” he said.
“This included major improvements to facilities, upgrading teaching equipment and creating modern learning spaces across TAFE campuses, particularly in our regions.
“Geoff was also pivotal in ensuring our TAFE and vocational educational helped people retrain and pick up new skills during the depths of the pandemic with more than 220,000 people taking up fee-free courses.
“As the Member for Parramatta, Geoff dedicated himself to transforming our River City, and has been instrumental in delivering new community facilities, new and upgraded schools, including the State’s first vertical school Arthur Phillip High School, major upgrades to Westmead Hospital and Westmead Children’s Hospital, the new CommBank Stadium, Powerhouse Parramatta and the construction of important transport links such as the Parramatta Light Rail.
“On behalf of the NSW Government and the NSW Liberal Party, I thank Geoff for his outstanding contribution to the people of our state and the Parramatta electorate and wish him and his family all the best.”
54-year-old Mr Lee won his seat at the 2011 State Election, achieving a major swing in a traditional Labor seat.
The seat remains a strong Liberal seat despite a slight swing to Labor at the last election.
Troy Dodds is Parra News' Managing Editor and Breaking News Reporter. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia’s leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.