Australian state leader Dominic Perrottet sorry for wearing Nazi uniform to his 21st birthday
- New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet, 40, said it had been a ‘terrible mistake’ and he ‘did not understand the hurt of what that uniform means to people’
- Perrottet denied that he revealed the incident to head off potential political blowback ahead of the state election
The leader of Australia’s most populous state has apologised for wearing a Nazi uniform to his fancy dress 21st birthday party.
New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet, 40, said it had been a “terrible mistake.”
“I’m deeply ashamed of what I did and I’m truly sorry for the hurt and the pain that this will cause people right across our state, and particularly members of the Jewish community, Holocaust survivors, veterans and their families,” Perrottet said at a press conference.
“When I was 21, at my 21st fancy dress party, I wore a Nazi uniform,” he added.
Perrottet said he had decided to tell the public after he was approached by a member of his cabinet about the issue two days ago.
He leads a centre-right coalition government in the state of more than 8 million people, which is home to Sydney. A state election is due to be held on March 25.
He took over the party and state leadership in October 2021, following the resignation of his predecessor Gladys Berejiklian.
Perrottet also denied that he revealed the episode to head off potential political blowback ahead of the election.
“I thought this was important, that this is my truth, that I should be the one to explain that to the people of our state, not someone else,” national broadcaster ABC quoted him as saying.
The politician also said he was “naive” at the time of the incident and “didn’t understand the importance of his decision”.
“It was just a terrible mistake where I, at that age in my life, I just did not understand the gravity and the hurt of what that uniform means to people, not just in our state, but around the country and around the world.”
Additional reporting by SCMP’s Asia desk