I'll be missed, says dropped Sartor

(AAP) If you ask Frank Sartor, dropping him from the front bench is a decision NSW Premier Nathan Rees will live to regret.

Mr Sartor became one of three high-profile casualties of the cabinet reshuffle,
joining treasurer Michael Costa who was dumped on Friday, and health minister Reba
Meagher, who jumped before she could be pushed.
Unlike Mr Costa and Ms Meagher, however, Mr Sartor didn't see his axe falling and
now the former lord mayor of Sydney is warning the new premier his experience will
be missed.
"I personally think he's made a mistake," said Mr Sartor who will remain the Member
for Rockdale.
"The government has huge challenges ahead, and what they need is talent and
experience and while I think there are some good people in the ministry, I hope they
know what they're doing."
Mr Sartor said Mr Rees was "more concerned about perceptions" than about who gets
the job done, but would not be drawn on what he believed his own public perception
was after nearly 17 years in public office.
He pointed to his "transformation" of Sydney, the establishment of the Cancer
Institute of NSW, the Water and Energy Savings Fund - now the Climate Change Fund -
the smoking ban in pubs and clubs, and difficult planning reforms.
"I've done all this in good faith," said Mr Sartor, who added there had been "a lot
of tears" at the caucus meeting this morning when his axing was announced.
"I think I've achieved the attributes that Nathan Rees said he wanted, which were
skill or intelligence, hard work and courage.
"Maybe I wasn't courageous enough."
But Mr Sartor's political career has not been free of controversy.
Last year, he was forced to deny millions of dollars of political donations were
linked to $3 billion in development applications under his consideration.
The Property Council of Australia said it was very sorry to see him go.
"Mr Sartor has been a lion-hearted minister who's tackled some very tough issues,"
said Ken Morrison, executive director of the Property Council's NSW division.
Earlier this year, Mr Sartor called the NSW Shire Association "too dumb" to
understand the benefits of new planning laws he had pushed through.
The president of the Local Government Association - that works in partnership with
the Shires Association - said working with Mr Sartor had become "extremely
difficult" towards the end of his tenure.
"Clearly, there were difficulties that local government had in dealing with the
minister over planning changes," Genia McCaffery told AAP.
"It was extremely difficult towards the end."
When asked why he gave Mr Sartor the axe, Mr Rees implied he had been a
"dysfunctional" influence in cabinet.
"I've been in cabinet for the last 18 months and on occasions that cabinet has been
dysfunctional, largely because of the personalities involved," he said.
Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell said Mr Sartor's dismissal had nothing to do with
his experience or personality, but was simply a result of his lack of factional
protection.
"Sartor got punted because he's not a factional player ... he's got no factional war
lord protecting him," he said.
Mr Sartor also indicated factional power brokers may have guided Mr Rees' hand
saying: "There's no question the factions run the place".
Accompanied by his wife Monique and baby son William, Mr Sartor struggled with his
emotions as he spoke about his plans for the future.
"In recent times I've thought about young William, particularly when I go to work in
the morning and he looks at me as I walk out the door and I think: `Gee, I'd rather
stay home with you' ...
"I got my wish," a teary Mr Sartor said.
He said he wasn't a "bomb-thrower" and while he would be writing a book about his
work in the City of Sydney it would not be "Latham-esque" referring to former
federal Labor leader Mark Latham.