Northcott until its abolition on 26 March 1999. His transfer bid was successful at the 1999 election, gaining 56.3% of the primary vote and 70.03% after preferences. When Ron Phillips was defeated at the election, thereby vacating the Deputy Leadership, O'Farrell stood for the position and was elected on 31 March 1999, defeating Chris Hartcher by one vote. Chikarovski then appointed him on 19 April 1999 to the senior role of Shadow Minister for Transport, dropping Small Business. At the 1999 republic referendum, O'Farrell voted against the proposal for Australia to become a republic with a president elected by the Parliament of Australia. In 2007, referring to his vote, O'Farrell stated "I'm not going to buy something that I don't believe is a better deal". In a further Shadow Cabinet reshuffle on 4 January 2002, O'Farrell lost Information Technology and became Shadow Minister for Innovation. However, when John Brogden deposed Chikarovski as Leader on 28 March 2002, O'Farrell also lost the Deputy Leadership, eleven votes to nine, to Chris Hartcher. O'Farrell was sacked from the shadow ministry but, on 1 September 2002, after six months on the backbench O'Farrell was appointed by Brogden as Shadow Minister for Education and Training and Shadow Special Minister of State. Following the 2003 state election, O'Farrell was re-elected as the Member for Ku-ring-gai with 71.60% of the two-party vote, O'Farrell successfully contested the deputy's position, replacing Hartcher. Brogden then appointed him on 8 April 2003 as Shadow Minister for Health, dropping his Education portfolio. After Brogden resigned as leader on 29 August 2005, Peter Debnam became leader when O'Farrell pulled out of the leadership race on the morning of the 1 September party vote. Debnam then appointed him as Shadow Leader of the House, Shadow Minister for Transport and Shadow Minister for Waterways on 20 March 2006. In a November reshuffle, O'Farrell was shifted to the senior position of Shadow Treasurer. Leader of the Opposition (2007–2011) After the Liberals were defeated in the 2007 state election, O'Farrell announced his intention to challenge Debnam for party leadership. When it was apparent that Debnam did not have enough support to keep his post, he opted not to recontest, leaving O'Farrell to take the leadership unopposed. Jillian Skinner was elected Deputy Leader. He later appointed himself Shadow Minister for Western Sydney in the Shadow Ministry. In June 2008, Newspoll reported that O'Farrell led Morris Iemma in the