Controversial government backbencher George Christensen has confirmed he will retire from politics, choosing not to recontest his Queensland seat at the next election.
Key points:
- In his statement, George Christensen said he believed creating change on many conservative issues had become impossible
- He listed the approval of the Adani Carmichael coal mine as one of his proudest achievements
- Labor frontbencher Kristina Keneally expressed hope Mr Christensen would not land in a diplomatic posting
Mr Christensen has been in Federal Parliament for more than a decade, often stirring controversy with contentious views on a range of issues.
In a statement announcing his retirement, the maverick MP took a swipe at the state of Australian politics and suggested creating change on many conservative issues had become impossible.
"Our politics just does not seem to be working when it comes to the issues that matter to me, and to many others," he said.
"Issues like enshrining religious liberty, protecting the unborn, ensuring freedom of speech, including online free speech.
"Installing cheap coal-fired power so we can support jobs, ensuring we keep Australian land and strategic assets out of the hands of the Chinese Communist Party and preferably in Australian hands, and many other key conservative issues.
Mr Christensen's seat of Dawson is held by the LNP with a margin of more than 10 per cent, having been won from Labor at the 2010 election.
He suggested he is leaving on his own terms, with plans to spend time with his family, from whom he had been separated due to closed international borders.
He listed the approval of the Adani Carmichael coal mine, and the employment it created, as one of his proudest achievements.
ABC News: Matt Roberts
)Mr Christensen has at times stood at odds with his party and government on a range of issues, including most recently the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But he wished his soon-to-be former colleagues well at the next election.
"I continue to strongly support the LNP as, on many of the issues that I'm passionate about, the Morrison-McCormack Liberal National Government gets it, and is working in some way towards addressing it," he said.
"Maybe not always totally to my liking.
"But the reality is Labor would make things infinitely worse, not just on these issues but for our entire nation."
Deputy Prime Minister and Nationals leader Michael McCormack said he will be missed.
"I pay tribute to the hard work, advocacy, fellowship and good humour George and I have always enjoyed and wish he and his family all the very best for life following this service to his community," he said.
Maverick MP made his name airing hard-right views
Mr Christensen has spent much of his political career courting controversy with sometimes extreme positions on often sensitive matters.
He never held a frontbench role, instead often using his platform to push far-right issues and causes.
Facebook: George Christensen
)Posts on his Facebook page, which has more than 74,000 followers, often go to matters like relations with China, "woke" culture and conspiracies like the "Great Reset".
Over the past year he has often cast doubt on government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, and he has been linked to the spread of misinformation online.
In his retirement statement, he used the opportunity to again question the pandemic response from health authorities and criticise what he labelled the "de-facto mandate of vaccines".
In 2019 he responded angrily to media reporting around his frequent travel to the Philippines.
He admitted to having been approached by the Australian Federal Police over his travel, but the AFP later confirmed it was not investigating the MP.
And a year later, he called for tighter restrictions on immigration and warned Parliament of "the rise of Islamism in this country".
MP slams 'mainstream media', critics welcome 'long overdue' departure
Mr Christensen used the opportunity of his retirement to attack those he sees as preventing a more conservative approach being taken on his "key issues".
"The mainstream media, and other cultural institutions in this nation, sadly have the dominant influence over our politics," he said.
"And these institutions are just so disconnected from the views of everyday Australians, or at least those that I represent in my North Queensland electorate of Dawson."
ABC News: Nick Haggarty
)And he suggested he plans to continue speaking out, within parliament while he still can, and once he is no longer bound by party politics.
"While there's still breath in me, I'm going to continue speaking out on the issues that matter, without fear or favour, or the need to get reelected," he said.
Senior Labor figures welcomed his retirement.
Bill Shorten suggested it was "long overdue", while fellow frontbencher Kristina Keneally expressed hope he would not land in a diplomatic posting.
"A lot of retired Liberal and National MPs get a cushy overseas posting with a nice taxpayer-funded salary from their mate Scott Morrison," she said.
"I hope to god that Mr Morrison doesn't make Mr Christensen a Consul General to the Philippines or anywhere else."
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2021-04-22 12:08:46Z
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