Leaving so soon? Premier, we were just getting to know you

March 5, 2026 — 5:00am

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“When I am 64,” prime minister John Howard hinted in May 2003 when asked about the longevity of his leadership. That was two months out from his birthday, a milestone that he signalled might be when he would start to ponder his political future. But if Howard did turn his mind to it on July 26 that year, nothing came of it.

Howard was prime minister for another four and a bit years until voters booted him from office.

NSW Premier Chris Minns did the opposite to Howard this week, without so much as a prod. And no one can quite work out why. Most leaders are coy, even dishonest, about their planned leadership timeline. Minns openly foreshadowed the end of his.

Those comments will come back to haunt him until next year’s election and beyond.

On Monday, Minns stood at a building site for the new metro station at the northern end of the CBD. He was marking the end of an era, or at least the last breakthrough of the final boring machine into the cavern beneath Hunter Street.

‘I won’t be here’: NSW premier reveals his leadership timeline

A reporter at the media conference posed a benign question to the premier. What was Minns’ “dream for how this city........

© The Sydney Morning Herald