“As a loyal Liberal, I accept completely that in the Liberal Party it is the right of the Leader alone to select his team,” Mr. Lucas said.
“Whilst there have been indications of sufficient support from my Legislative Council colleagues for me to continue as Leader of the Legislative Council, I have decided that I will step down from the position.
“I appreciate the support and loyalty of my Legislative Council colleagues, but I don’t want to place them in the potentially difficult position of having a Leader who wasn’t also a member of the Shadow Cabinet.
“After 21 years as a Minister or Shadow Minister and 17 years as Leader, I am looking forward to the relatively greater freedom of being a backbencher to pursue a number of important issues and interests, but especially to continue to highlight the inadequacies of the current Government.”