Mr Toole was sitting in his office yesterday when a staffer told him to turn on the television urgently as Premier Barry O’Farrell had called an unscheduled media conference.

The Coalition leader announced he would be standing down as NSW Premier.

It followed claims aired in an Independent Commission Against Corruption inquiry that Mr O’Farrell had accepted a $3000 bottle of 1959 Grange Hermitage from Australian Water Holdings boss Nick Di Girolamo.

Mr O’Farrell had denied any recollection of receiving the bottle of top-shelf wine, but quit yesterday when a thank you note for the gift from him was produced.

Mr Toole told the Western Advocate yesterday he had no inkling this was coming.

“I just felt numb and shocked,” he said.

“I nearly hit the ground. Not one person could have seen this coming. 

“There would have been a stony silence in Parliament House.

“The premier made an error of judgment and has paid the ultimate price. 

“His decision, however, typifies the type of bloke he is.

“He’s a decent person who sets the highest standards of integrity, and his decision to step down as premier reflects this.”

Mr Toole said Mr O’Farrell himself beefed up ICAC’s powers to help get rid of corruption in NSW.

“What this does show is that politicians are now even more accountable than ever before,” he said. “The bar has now been set even higher, but I do feel this state has lost a wonderful leader.

“Mr O’Farrell was outstanding and ran rings around the Opposition on the parliamentary floor.

“It will now be a matter of the Liberal Party electing a new leader when it meets next week, and I believe the major contenders will be treasurer Mike Baird and transport minister Gladys Berejiklian. An outsider could be the minister for energy and resources Anthony Roberts.”

Mr Toole said he believes Mr O’Farrell would sit on the back bench to avoid the massive expense of holding a by-election.

“I think he would then consider his future after the next state election,” he said.

Mr Toole said he had never received a bottle of Grange Hermitage as a gift.

“Yes, I have received a bottle of wine from time to time in the past, but only pretty common stuff. However, I think that as a result of this I will even rethink accepting anything like that in the future,” he said.

In the meantime, President of the Bathurst AH&P Association Brett Kenworthy said they will now have to find a new person to officially open this year’s Royal Bathurst Show.

“We did have Premier O’Farrell lined up for that duty and were very much looking forward to having him in town,” he said. 

“I was just astonished when I heard the news he had resigned yesterday. However, when you have a high-profile person like this involved you have to have a backup plan, and there’s a range of people such as the mayor or state or federal member or Agricultural Society Council of NSW patron we can ask.”