Paul Lawrence Toole (born 2 August 1970), an Australian politician, is the

Deputy Premier A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

and leader of the New South Wales Nationals since October 2021. Toole is the

Minister for Regional New South Wales The Minister for Regional New South Wales is a minister in the Government of New South Wales who has responsibilities for regional areas. The current minister is Paul Toole who is also the Deputy Premier of New South Wales and the Minister f ...

in the second Berejiklian and Perrottet ministries, since April 2019; and the New South Wales Minister for Police in the Perrottet ministry since December 2021. He is a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Hou ...

, representing Bathurst for the Nationals since 26 March 2011. Toole was previously the Deputy Leader of the NSW Nationals between 2019 and 2021; served as the Minister for Regional Transport and Roads between April 2019 and December 2021; the Minister for Lands and Forestry and the Minister for Racing in the

First Berejiklian ministry First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

from January 2017 until March 2019; and the Minister for Local Government in the

Second Baird ministry The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...

from April 2014 until January 2017.

Early years and background

Toole is one of nine children raised by Trevor and Ellen Toole, of Peel, a village outside Bathurst, in the central west of New South Wales. Toole's father was a thrice-unsuccessful candidate for state and federal political office, representing the National Party at the

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

and

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake stri ...

state elections for Bathurst and the 1996 federal election, for Calare. Paul Toole's grandfather, Jack Toole, was an unsuccessful

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and ...

candidate at 1956 state election, also for Bathurst. Toole began teaching at Assumption Primary School in Bathurst in 1995.

Political career

In the same year, Toole was elected a councillor to Evans Shire Council. Evans was amalgamated with Bathurst to create the Bathurst Regional Council in 2005. He was elected to the new Council that year, filling the post of deputy mayor, becoming mayor in 2007. On 30 October 2010, Toole was the sole nominee that sought and gained endorsement by the National Party as the candidate for the state seat of Bathurst. At the March 2011 elections, Toole was elected and recorded a swing of 36.3 points–almost unheard of in Australian politics–in the traditionally

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

seat, winning 74.8% of the

two-party A two-party system is a political party system in which two major political parties consistently dominate the political landscape. At any point in time, one of the two parties typically holds a majority in the legislature and is usually referre ...

vote Toole's main competitor was Labor's Dale Turner; and his election followed the retirement of Labor member,

Gerard Martin Gerard Francis Martin MP (born 28 May 1946), a former Australian politician, was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing the electorate of Bathurst between 1999 and 2011 for the Labor Party. Martin has worked as an ...

. Toole picked up enough of a swing to turn Bathurst from safe Labor to safe National in one stroke. Following his election to state parliament, Toole announced his decision to immediately retire from teaching and step down as Mayor in September 2011. He stated that he will remain on Council until the 2012 local government elections. Due to the ICAC related resignation of

Barry O'Farrell Barry Robert O'Farrell (born 24 May 1959) is a former Australian politician who has been Australia's High Commissioner to India and non-resident Ambassador to Bhutan since May 2020. O'Farrell was the 43rd Premier of New South Wales and Minis ...

as Premier, and the subsequent ministerial reshuffle by

Mike Baird Michael Bruce Baird (born 1 April 1968) is an Australian investment banker and former politician who was the 44th Premier of New South Wales, the Minister for Infrastructure, the Minister for Western Sydney, and the Leader of the New South ...

, the new Liberal Leader, in April 2014 Toole was promoted as the Minister for Local Government in the first Baird government; and was reconfirmed as the Minister for Local Government in the second Baird ministry. Toole's attempts to amalgamate a large number of

councils A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or ...

resulted in him becoming very unpopular across the state, including in areas of his own constituency, such as Oberon and Blayney. Following the resignation of Baird as Premier, Gladys Berejiklian was elected as Liberal leader and sworn in as Premier. Toole sworn in on 30 January 2017 as the Minister for Lands and Forestry and the Minister for Racing in the first Berejiklian ministry. Following the 2019 state election, Niall Blair, the former Deputy Leader of the Nationals announced his resignation from parliament. Toole contested the vacancy and was elected Deputy Leader. He was subsequently appointed as the Minister for Regional Transport and Roads in the second Berejiklian ministry, with effect from 2 April 2019.

National Party leadership

Following the resignation of NSW Nationals leader and Deputy Premier

John Barilaro Giovanni Domenic "John" Barilaro (born 14 November 1971) is a former Australian politician who served as the 18th deputy premier of New South Wales and the leader of the New South Wales division of the National Party from 2016 to 2021. He wa ...

Melinda Pavey Melinda Jane Pavey (; born 1969), an Australian politician, is the New South Wales Minister for Water, Property and Housing since April 2019 in the second Berejiklian ministry and the Perrottet ministry. Pavey has been a member of the New Sout ...

announced that she would contest the leadership. Toole later announced that he would run in the leadership contest, that was to take place the following day. On 6 October 2021, Toole successfully won the leadership contest against Pavey, 15–3.

Bronnie Taylor Bronwyn Taylor (known as Bronnie Taylor), an Australian politician, is the New South Wales Minister for Women, the Minister for Regional Health, and the Minister for Mental Health in the Perrottet ministry, since December 2021. Taylor has s ...

was elected unopposed as his deputy. Toole was sworn in as Deputy Premier, Minister for Regional New South Wales, and Minister for Regional Transport and Roads. In a reorganisation of the Perrottet ministry, Toole was sworn in as Minister for Police, relinquishing the Regional Transport and Roads portfolio, with effect from 21 December 2021. On the same day, Pavey was demoted from the ministry.

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