Liberal MP Stuart Robert to quit politics triggering new test of Peter Dutton’s leadership

Liberal MP Stuart Robert quits politics after 16 years, sparking another test of Peter Dutton’s leadership in by-elections

  • Stuart Robert to relinquish Fadden’s Queensland seat
  • Member of Parliament for the Gold Coast for 16 years
  • Activates midterm elections in the safe Liberal seat

A by-election will be held in Queensland’s Fadden seat following the retirement of Liberal MP Stuart Robert.

Federal Liberal MP Stuart Robert retires from politics, prompting new Queensland by-elections.

The shadow assistant treasurer made the announcement on Saturday morning and said he wanted to focus on family after 16 years in politics.

“My family has supported me all along, through thick and thin,” Mr Robert said in a statement.

“Now is the time for my family to have a husband, a father, and a son to stand by them.”

Mr Robert served as Minister for Veterans Affairs, Minister for National Disability Insurance and Minister for Public Services under the Turnbull and Morrison governments.

He used his farewell statement to advocate for a more bourgeois federal parliament.

Shadow assistant treasurer Stuart Robert made the announcement on Saturday morning, saying he wanted to focus on family after 16 years in politics

“I fear that the division is well entrenched in the current parliament,” said Robert.

‘It is not a friendlier and softer parliament.’

Mr Robert’s retirement will trigger a federal by-election in the Queensland seat of Fadden.

It will be another test for the federal opposition, which lost Victoria’s Aston by-election earlier this year.