He said he had only ever intended to “serve three terms” after first being elected at the 2010 election and only contested the last election to ensure the Coalition held the seat and kept out a “Green-tinged Labor government”.
He listed several road projects and the Adani Carmichael mine as his best contributions as an MP. In a video uploaded to his Facebook page,he warned he was concerned about the trend on restrictions on freedoms of speech,abortion,the rights of doctors to promote alternate treatments and the rising of the Chinese Communist government.
The member for Dawson said he wanted to spend more time with his family,including his wife April Asuncion,who were “caught up overseas” due to pandemic border closures.
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The pair met in a karaoke bar during one of the MP’s 28 trips abroad,spending almost 300 days in the Philippines between 2014 and 2018.
TheAustralian Federal Police warned Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at the time he could be questioned in the Philippines by local police given rising concerns about his payments to women and lengthy stays in “seedy” hotels.
After almost a year of inquiries police found no evidence of illegality but raised concerns he remained an ongoing risk of being compromised.