‘Best and brightest’: Liberal frontbencher Jonno Duniam to quit politics before 2028 election

To the Coalition’s chagrin, the Liberals’ leading candidate, Jonno Duniam, resigned before the next federal election.

On Sunday morning, it was reported that the Tasmanian senator and opposition home affairs spokesman will quit politics ahead of the 2028 election.

Senator Duniam told the Mercury that his family “paid the price for my absence.”

Reacting to the news, Home Secretary Tony Burke said the Liberal Party would lose “one of its best and brightest”.

He told Sky News: “There will be many times when Senator Duniam and I will argue and he will say some pretty harsh things, as you would expect a shadow minister to say, but the truth is that whenever it’s something directly in the national interest, I’ve never seen him be anything but professional.”

Senator Duniam publicly opposes the return of so-called ISIS brides and has been trying to pressure the government on net outmigration in recent months.

More to come