Dominic Perrottet's revelation that he wore a Nazi uniform at his 21st birthday party threatens to scupper his election chances two months from the NSW poll.
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Already hobbled by the retirements of a dozen colleagues, the state premier disclosed his controversial costume choice amid rumours about the 2003 party.
"At that age in my life, I just did not understand the gravity of what that uniform meant," he said on Thursday.
"It was just a naive thing to do ... I'm truly sorry for the hurt and the pain this will cause right across our state."
Asked where he saw the humour in wearing a Nazi uniform, he suggested all people mature differently based on their experiences.
"I am not the person I was when I was 21," the 40-year-old said.
"At that time, the pages of the history books had not had the impression on me that they should have."
Seven News named Transport Minister David Elliott as the cabinet colleague whose private warning on Tuesday prompted Mr Perrottet's confession.
The incident came a year after Mr Perrottet joined the NSW Liberal Party and two years before he was appointed president of the NSW Young Liberals.
In the two decades since Mr Perrottet hired the Nazi costume and walked into his birthday party, attitudes have evolved, renowned Australian Jewish historian Suzanne Rutland said.
"There's been a much greater sensitivity that is developed over the years to these types of issues," she told AAP.
Dr Rutland noted it was only last year that the swastika was banned in NSW and Victoria.
"And yet there have been problems with the swastika for years - it didn't get banned at that point in time," she said.
Cultural historian Jordana Silverstein said the timing of the premier's admission was about saving face, rather than genuinely accounting for his actions.
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"It's always been considered offensive, but it's a matter of whose opinions have been listened to, and respected," she told AAP.
"(Mr) Perrottet wearing the Nazi costume speaks to the normalisation of anti-Semitism and how acceptable it is amongst a certain segment of Australian society."
The remorseful premier personally apologised to the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, which said it hoped "this unfortunate incident will serve as a lesson to all".
Followers of the Board of Deputies were divided about the significance of the incident, which the premier has cast as a terrible mistake of youthful naivety.
While some said the public knew well in 2003 that dressing as a Nazi was offensive, others said young men like Mr Perrottet didn't have the inherited experience and education about the Holocaust.
Polls for the state election open on March 18.
Australian Associated Press
