New South Wales (NSW) MP George Souris has announced he will not recontest the 2015 state elections, after 27 years in parliament.
During his tenure, Mr Souris served as the tourism, hospitality and racing minister as an MP in the Upper House. He lost his cabinet position when current NSW Premier Mike Baird was appointed, following the controversial resignation of then Premier Barry O’Farrell.
Following his announcement, Mr Souris expressed his disappointment at his demotion.
“I was in the ministry and I was dropped from the ministry. I don’t want to sit on the back bench with the tag ‘was dumped’,” he said.
Mr Souris’s announcement comes on the back of a wave of announcements by Greek Australian parliamentarians who are set to retire.
Victorian MPs Nicholas Kotsiras (Liberal) and John Pandazopoulos (Labor), along with Northern Territory Labor politician Kon Vatskalis have all announced their retirement by year’s end.
The retirements coincide with Greek Australian former federal parliamentarians Sophie Mirabella (Liberal) and Steve Georganos (Labor) losing their seats in the 2013 federal election.
Any impact on the community, due to the large scale exodus by Greek Australian politicians at both state and federal levels, is unknown.
Source: Sydney Morning Herald