Liberal frontbencher Jonno Duniam has announced he will quit politics before the end of the year, dealing yet another self-inflicted wound to the struggling Coalition as it wallows in its lowest popularity levels in decades. The Tasmanian senator, elected in 2016 and widely considered one of the Liberals' best talents, said the decision was "extremely difficult" but had been brewing for "quite some time" so he could spend more time with his family.
"Where we're at in the polls is irrelevant," Duniam insisted on Sunday, perhaps hoping nobody would check the polls. "It wouldn't matter whether we were on the precipice of a landslide win or the doldrums of electoral defeat, I would be making the same decision I am today." He serves as shadow home affairs minister and told opposition leader Angus Taylor about his departure, but Taylor asked him to finish the Coalition's immigration policy work first - because nothing says "retirement" like one last homework assignment.
The 43-year-old cited the party's leadership change earlier this year as an "exhausting" and "difficult" process that catalyzed his decision. "When the leadership change came along, it started to really wear on me," he said. "It was less about direction and more about my personal energy levels, and to that end, that is why I made that decision." Duniam admitted he felt like he was "letting down the team" but noted he had given 25 years to the party and needed to prioritize family. "I've got three boys, I've got a family that I need to ensure have me around as well," he said.
Newly elected Liberal president Tony Abbott expressed being "very disappointed" but acknowledged the toughness of public life, then immediately pivoted to demanding "every hand on deck right now to save Australia from a terrible government and keep us our best selves." He added a wish that Duniam's replacement come from "a very strong field of proven achievers" - presumably not the ones currently tanking in the polls.
Home affairs minister Tony Burke called Duniam one of the opposition's "best and brightest," which is a bit like calling someone the best swimmer on a sinking ship. Duniam's announcement comes as current polling shows the Coalition could be wiped out as the opposition at the next federal election if One Nation's surge continues. In May, a Redbridge Group/Accent Research poll in the Australian Financial Review showed One Nation's primary vote surpassing both Labor and the Coalition for the first time.
Earlier this week, conservative Liberal from rural South Australia and shadow minister Tony Pasin suggested his party and One Nation "work hand-in-glove to defeat Labor" by not running in the same seats. Taylor quickly rejected the idea, and Liberal senator James Paterson called it "premature." Duniam dismissed talk of deals with One Nation two years before a federal election as "not relevant," adding: "Because if we're just going to wave the white flag and say that 'it's over now, we've just got to do deals with others to get across the line,' then we're not doing our job properly."