Speakman is named new Liberals’

leader in NSW

Former attorney-general, barrister and moderate Mark Speakman, nearly a month after the Liberals' heavy state election defeat to Labor, was elected as leader He won the party-room vote 22 to 13 over former planning minister Anthony Roberts Former finance minister Damien Tudehope has been elected leader of the opposition in the upper house Mark Speakman grew up in Caringbah, in the Cronulla electorate he has represented since 2011 and where he has lived most of his adult life. He has two children, Kate and Matt

He holds a Bachelor of Laws (first class honours and the university medal) and a Bachelor of Economics from Sydney University as well as a Master of Law (first class honours) from Cambridge Uni- versity. Mark was appointed Senior Counsel after a successful legal career before entering NSW Parliament

The 63-year-old Camb r i d g e - e d u c a t e d Cronulla MP said the party needed to maintain its core principles while modernising its approach to create broader appeal

“We certainly have to reach out to women, reach out to young people, reach out to culturally diverse people and if that's modernising, then we have to modernise, but at the end of the day, our basic principles are sound

“My style as attorney-general has been to be constructive, collaborative, but ultimately activist and that will be my approach in opposition ”

The RBA is governed by a board comprised of a governor, deputy governor, secretary to the treasury, and six non-executive members, who are appointed by the treasurer The review has called for a more transparent operation, with press conferences held after every meeting and board member speaking publicly on occasion Under the recent reforms outlined, the current RBA board will be stripped of its power to set interest rates, with the responsibility instead being allocated to a "monetary policy board". The new panel will meet eight times a year instead of monthly to allow more time to consider issues