Shadow Minister for Home Affairs Karen Andrews has announced she will leave the Coalition’s frontbench and will not recontest her seat at the next election.
It comes as Opposition Leader Peter Dutton announced a reshuffle to the Coalition frontbench on Tuesday morning, which has seen Senator Michaelia Cash promoted to the role of Shadow Attorney-General.
Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has also been named Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians, while Senator Kerrynne Liddle has been given the role of Shadow Minister for Child Protection.
James Patterson has been named Shadow Home Affairs Minister.
The reshuffle follows the resignation of Julian Leeser from the position of Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians and Shadow Attorney-General. He moved to the backbench after Dutton decided the Liberal Party would formally oppose the Voice to Parliament. Leeser has been a long-time supporter of constitutional recognition for Indigenous people.
The promotion of Senator Price will allow her to play a key role in the Coalition’s campaign against the Voice to Parliament. She has already been vocal in her opposition to the Voice.
The resignation of Karen Andrews from the shadow frontbench is a blow to the Liberal Party, and her exit at the next election will further diminish the presence of experienced women in the party. In a statement, Andrews said she was proud to have been the first female Queensland MP to serve in a cabinet role.
“After much deliberation, I have decided not to recontest the seat of McPherson at the next election, and as a result I have asked Peter Dutton not to include me in his new shadow ministry,” she said in the statement.
“Having made the decision to call time on my political career, I wanted to ensure the Coalition has maximum time to have a replacement in the crucial home affairs portfolio, and the best local candidate for McPherson in place.
“It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve this nation as Australia’s Minister for Home Affairs, and as Minister for Industry, Science and Technology under a Coalition Government, and on the shadow front bench as Shadow Minister for Home Affairs, Child Protection and the Prevention of Family Violence.”
On her departure, Dutton said: “Karen made a decision that she wasn’t going to contest the next election. She said to me at the time of the next reshuffle she would be happy to stand aside.
“She’s, I think, as an engineer, when you look at her background, her experience over her period in government and now in Opposition, she will look forward to the next successful stage of her life.
“I think sometimes we underestimate with the travel and scrutiny and everything else involved in this business, you know, it can take a toll and that’s the case for all of us.
“But for Karen, to leave at a time of her choosing and in those circumstances I think speaks to her skill set and the way she’s been a significant contributor, not just in the home affairs portfolio when we were in government, but in Opposition when you don’t have the resources of a department.”