Liberal Party senator for Tasmania Jonno Duniam to retire before next election
Updated ,first published
Opposition home affairs spokesman Jonno Duniam’s decision to leave politics by the end of the year will be a serious blow to the Liberal Party.
“Today, I am announcing that I will not re-run in the next federal election and will retire from politics before the end of this year,” Duniam said in a statement. he said.
“I leave federal politics with pride and gratitude, but exhaustion.”
Duniam, 43, said although it was a difficult decision, he wanted to spend more time with his family after 25 years in politics and a decade as a Tasmanian senator.
“I threw everything into these responsibilities, often at the expense of my family… It’s time to change my priorities, and I can’t do that if I’m going to stay in politics.” he said.
“Now is the time for my party to elect new Senate team members who will advance the fight for Tasmania and the values the Liberal Party believes in.”
Duniam acknowledged he joined the Coalition at a “difficult time” but said he had confidence in the party’s leadership.
“But I firmly believe that my colleagues in both the Liberal Party and the National Party are firmly on the right track. There are no two people in the coalition better equipped to lead us (and Australia) to success than Angus Taylor and Matt Canavan; they are both outstanding leaders and have an unrivaled love for our country.”
Duniam said he would remain in office for a short time at the request of Opposition Leader Angus Taylor, to whom he said he intended to resign “some time ago”.
“He has asked me to continue for a short period of time to complete work on our immigration policies. I am delighted to be able to do this and to dedicate myself to building on the extensive work that Angus and his team have undertaken on our Australian values migration plan and restoring integrity, trust and national interests in Australia’s immigration system.”
The Tasmanian senator’s shock departure is a blow to the party to which he was elected in 2016.
The Conservative faction heavyweight was seen as a rising star within the party, holding the leading home affairs portfolio under Sussan Ley; this portfolio grew to include direct control over immigration policy under Angus Taylor; this was a key priority for the leader as he sought to counter the coming One Nation wave.
Duniam’s opposing government Home Secretary Tony Burke said the Liberal Party had lost one of its “best and brightest”.
“There will be a lot of times where Senator Duniam and I will argue and he’ll say some pretty harsh things, as you’d expect a shadow minister to say, but the truth is, whenever it’s something that’s directly in the national interest, I’ve never seen him be anything but professional,” Burke said, pointing to bipartisan support for banning hate groups like Hizb ut Tahrir earlier this year.
“This was led by Jonno Duniam in the Coalition processes… we are a safer country because it was done and without his leadership this would not have happened.”
Front teammate Phillip Thompson said he spoke to Duniam on Sunday morning and was sad to see him go.
“But I completely understand his reasoning,” Thompson told Sky News. “Missing anniversaries, missing birthdays, missing holidays, you know, as the shadow home secretary, he’s always on TV, he’s travelling, he’s always away from his family and it’s taking its toll on him.
“He was a fierce warrior and a fierce servant of the political party and also of the Senate. He was my mentor, someone I met with regularly and asked for feedback and some different perspectives. He’s a great guy, a great human being, and I wish him the best of luck.”
Duniam played a leading role in the negotiations over who would replace Sussan Ley, supporting Andrew Hastie, who eventually gave up the challenge.
The leak was fueled by the revelation that Duniam, a key member of Ley’s leadership team, was involved in succession planning.
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Brittany Busch is the federal politics correspondent for The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
