 He was elected into the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for the seat of Davidson, at a May 1992 by-election brought on by the resignation of former Education Minister and Liberal-turned-independent member Terry Metherell, who resigned to take up a public service appointment offered by the Greiner government.The Independent Commission Against Corruption undertook an investigation into the appointment amid allegations that this amounted to a corrupt attempt to have Davidson return to the Liberal Party, which had lost its parliamentary majority at the 1991 election.The independents who held the balance of power subsequently forced Greiner's resignation as Premier, but ICAC was found to have exceeded its jurisdiction by the Supreme Court of New South Wales.