This morning, I wrote to the Speaker of the House of Representatives to advise of my immediate resignation from the Parliament as the Federal Member for Farrer.
In keeping with my final remarks at Parliament House, I shall not be returning for a valedictory speech. I am confident that my efforts and achievements over 25 years will speak for themselves; as a local member, Minister in four Coalition governments and Leader of the Liberal Party, as well as in the minds of the many people whose lives touched mine along the way.
Naturally, I am sad to no longer represent my electorate of Farrer. I love the wide western plains of New South Wales, the country towns along the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers and the thriving cities of Albury and Griffith; communities that it has been my enormous privilege to serve for almost 25 years.
At one stage the western edge of Farrer was the entire New South Wales-South Australian border, touching Queensland at Camerons Corner. I certainly appreciated being able to fly myself in a light plane, often into remote airstrips.
Every community in Farrer is unique. My approach was that one size does not fit all and I always fought to ensure that all of my constituents, whether they lived in the bigger centres or miles away from them, were treated with the same importance as anyone else, anywhere else across Australia.
I came to know the electorate as a candidate, towing the caravan I lived in when I worked in the shearing sheds, up and down the Murray River. I became attached to the landscapes and lifestyles of this part of Australia and was never prouder than when speaking up for our communities in the national Parliament.
The people and their stories will always be with me. Farming families battling fires, dust storms, drought and low irrigation allocations; small business owners breathing activity into quiet streets and local volunteers asking for so little but doing so much.
And always, always, the wonderful women of western New South Wales — the ones who put themselves last without ever losing heart. I want to acknowledge their strength, their courage, and their sheer, bloody mindedness when fighting for the people they love and the future they deserve.
Wherever I travelled in Australia, part of me would miss ‘my people’, the people I always came home to at the end of every long road. I will continue to live in the best part of Australia.
After the Liberal Party suffered our worst defeat in 81 years, it was with gratitude and humility that I took on the role of Leader of our Party. I was elected by my parliamentary colleagues and I thank them once again for the opportunity to serve.
I believe my election as the first woman to ever lead not just the Federal Liberal Party, but any Federal Opposition, is a milestone for all women to be proud of. I hope I have paved the way for the next woman to be elected to, and succeed in, both these roles.
It will be for commentators and historians to measure the period of my leadership, but I am proud that we were instrumental in establishing a Commonwealth Royal Commission into Antisemitism and that we set clear directions on several key policy areas in tax, industrial relations, energy, national security, and families. I welcome the Coalition’s immediate re-adoption of many of these directions and policies in recent days and weeks.
The seat of Farrer was created in 1949. At every one of the 30 elections since, through different and challenging circumstances, it has been held without exception by the Liberal Party (for 60 years) and the National Party (for 17 years). The electorate has always been bigger than any one individual and has always been well-served by the Liberal Party. The election of a Liberal Member in the Farrer by-election is vital for the betterment and ongoing strength of our region and I know that Angus Taylor can and will ensure the Party continues to enjoy the support, trust and confidence of the people of Farrer.
I wish every single member of the 48th Parliament the best as they work hard to make this country a better place for our children and grandchildren. I am acutely aware that the blessings my six grandchildren enjoy are not shared by every child. In this luckiest country, that is unfinished business for all of us.
Australia is best served by Coalition governments and I particularly wish every one of my (now former) colleagues well as they work diligently and determinedly to win government.
For me, I have never lost the feeling I had as a young girl, migrating to Australia, stepping off the plane after travelling halfway round the world. A big sky, a big country, a place to dream your biggest dreams.
I thank the people of Farrer for the honour of representing them for the last 25 years.