Members

Member for Florey, ALP Resignation

The DEPUTY SPEAKER (16:04): On Wednesday 15 March, the Minister for Health secured endorsement as the ALP candidate for the seat of Florey in the 2018 election. Until next March, I will continue to energetically represent the interests of the electors of Florey and promote their values and rights to a fair go and the policy issues of importance to them—fundamental things like jobs; affordable, reliable energy; access to health and education services; and bold new initiatives such as universal ambulance cover.

I have had the honour to represent the Florey electorate through many boundary changes since 1997. As someone who has chosen to remain factionally unaligned, any influence on the centrally controlled preselection decision is taken from me, and I say to the faceless men who have taken this course of action that it is the voters and not you who will choose the next member for Florey.

This hostile takeover, under the guise and cover of the boundary redistribution, removes an acknowledged, hardworking, local sitting MP, primarily because the seat is no longer marginal. Therefore, in all conscience and on matters of principle, I advise the house that I will be resigning from the ALP today.