“His contribution to public policy advancing the cause of Indigenous and young Australians as their minds experiment and explore and grow – that has been his particular passion,” Dutton said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese praised Tudge for showing respect to the parliament by resigning in the House of Representatives and meeting with him before the announcement.

Tudge was largely absent from the campaign trail for the 2022 election after a term in which he stood aside from his cabinet portfolio after his former lover and staffer,Rachelle Miller –who was in the public gallery during his valedictory speech – accused him of being emotionally abusive and at one point physically abusive. He denied the claims and two inquiries made no findings against him.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives,Milton Dick,will determine the timing of the byelection in consultation with the Australian Electoral Commission. A minimum of 33 days must elapse before the poll is held and the timing of the Easter break,which begins on April 7,could complicate matters.

Mirabella said he’d love to see a number of women stand for preselection in the seat,agreeing City of Melbourne councillor Roshena Campbell was a “strong contender” when it was put to him.

In addition to Campbell,who is also a barrister and columnist forThe Age,several Liberal sources suggested two former state MPs – Catherine Burnett-Wake,and former Napthine government minister Nick Wakeling — will put their hands up as potential replacements,along with longtime Liberal figure Emanuele Cicchiello,andGuardian columnist and oncologist Ranjana Srivastava.

Three Victorian federal Liberal MPs said they were worried about the administrative committee imposing a candidate and warned the seat was definitely in play.

The ALP invested few resources to back its candidate,Mary Doyle,at the May 2022 poll with those same strategists pointing out that if the result in last November’s Victorian state election was overlaid on the federal seat,Labor would have won 51-49 per cent.

No decision has been taken on whether Labor will run Doyle again. A high-profile candidate or a union-backed candidate to ensure strong resources on the ground are also possibilities.

Simon Holmes a Court – the founder of Climate 200,which helpedbankroll teal independent candidates who ousted several Liberal members at the last election,including Frydenberg – said he was open to helping an independent contest the byelection.

“If there’s a community group in Aston planning to run a pro-climate independent campaign,we’d love to hear from them. This is how we’ve always operated,we never start a campaign or get involved in community selection processes – but we’re here to ensure good,community-backed independents have a fighting chance against the party machines,” he said.

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news,views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weeklyInside Politics newsletter here.