The former Morrison government minister Stuart Robert has officially announced his retirement from federal politics, to become a “full time husband, father and son”.
Robert’s retirement announcement means a second byelection test for the opposition, this time in Liberal National party heartland, with Robert’s seat of Fadden on the Gold Coast traditionally a conservative stronghold.
Robert, a close ally of the former prime minister Scott Morrison – who is also speculated to announce his retirement shortly – spent 16 years in the federal parliament, many of them mired in controversy.
Morrison, who used to share a flat with Robert and referred to him as “Brother Stuie”, elevated Robert to cabinet following the May 2019 federal election, giving him the government services portfolio.
That put Robert in charge of what became known as robodebt. He admitted during the royal commission to making several comments on the scheme throughout 2019 that he personally believed were false, defending himself by saying he was bound by cabinet solidarity.
After adverse court findings and advice the scheme was unlawful, Robert announced the robodebt scheme would be “refined” on 18 November 2019, but did not apologise and claimed only a “small cohort” of people were affected.
The royal commission into robodebt is yet to announce its findings, although the Labor government services minister, Bill Shorten, has used parliament question time to criticise Robert’s administration of the scheme.
Morrison strongly defended Robert after a 2016 scandal erupted over a “private” trip to Beijing that Robert took in 2014 to oversee a mining deal involving a major Liberal donor and meet a Chinese vice-minister.
Robert was assistant defence minister at the time of the trip and has always insisted he took the trip in a private capacity. However, after the trip became public in 2016, the then prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, sacked him as human services and veterans affairs minister. Robert was also among the Liberal MPs who accepted designer Rolex watches for himself and his wife from a Chinese billionaire in 2013, while in opposition.
Robert, Tony Abbott and Ian Macfarlane were gifted the watches at an informal dinner, but had assumed they were fake. Macfarlane was prompted to get his valued in 2016, which is when the story emerged. The watches were returned.
In announcing his retirement, Robert acknowledged his “time in parliament has not been the smoothest ride,” but assigned the blame to “politics”.
“Politics is tough,” he said. “People throw the kitchen sink at you. And promises of a kinder, gentler parliament need to be taken with a grain of salt. We may all aspire to it, but ambition in politics will always win – as Labor stalwart Graham Richardson aptly put it: whatever it takes.
“I do hope civility does eventually come to the theatre of politics. But I do fear division has well and truly entrenched itself in the current parliament. A kinder, gentler parliament it is not.
“I wish Peter Dutton all success as leader of our party and leader of the opposition. He has my full support to take it up to the Labor government and hold them to account, whilst at the same time giving Australians an alternative that acts in their best interests – not for popularity, not for social media, just a good decent custodian of government.”
Robert did not give a date for his resignation, only saying it would come in the “coming weeks”.
“For now, I will fulfill some final duties as member for Fadden over the next few weeks before becoming a full-time husband, father and son,” he said.
Speculation is already rife over who will run for preselection in the seat, with LNP small business committee member Fran Ward named by LNP sources, along with Gold Coast city councillors Cameron Caldwell and Ryan Bayldon-Lumsden and state Bonney MP Sam O’Connors.
