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Opposition home affairs spokesman Jonno Duniam has announced he will quit politics this year in the latest blow to the Liberal Party after more than a year of turmoil.
“I will not be seeking to recontest the next federal election and shall be retiring from politics before the end of this year,” Duniam said in a statement.
“I leave federal politics proud and grateful but exhausted.”
Duniam, 43, said though it was a difficult decision, he wanted to spend more time with his family after 25 years in politics and a decade as a senator for Tasmania.
“I have given everything to these responsibilities, often at the expense of family … It is time I reversed my priorities and I can’t do that if I am to stay in politics.” he said.
The shock departure of the Tasmanian senator is a hit to the party for which he was elected in 2016.
The conservative factional heavyweight was viewed as a rising star within the Coalition, taking on the prominent home affairs portfolio under former leader Sussan Ley, which grew to include direct control over immigration policy under Angus Taylor – a key priority for the opposition leader as he tries to fend off the encroaching One Nation tide.
Revelations that Duniam, a key member of Ley’s leadership team, was involved in her succession planning this year built momentum for the coup, and he later resigned from her frontbench to force a spill.
Duniam plays a crucial role in the Senate as manager of opposition business and is considered a safe pair of hands in negotiations.
His resignation will force a shadow ministry reshuffle after Taylor overhauled the frontbench when he took on the leadership in February.
A byelection will not be held because Duniam serves in the upper house.
Duniam’s departure comes after the Coalition suffered a major defeat in the 2025 election and split twice in the aftermath as the party grappled with its future direction. Ley was ousted after less than a year in the top job, and One Nation has eaten into the party’s traditional voters, leaping ahead of the opposition in the polls.
Duniam acknowledged he was leaving at a “difficult time” for the party but said he was confident in its leadership.
“No two people in the Coalition are more equipped to lead us (and Australia) back to success than Angus Taylor and [Nationals leader] Matt Canavan; they are both outstanding leaders and have a love for our country that is unrivalled,” Duniam said.
The senator said he was staying on for a short time at the request of Taylor, whom he told “some time ago” of his intention to quit.
“He has asked me to continue for a short period of time to complete work on our immigration policies. I am very happy to be able to do that.”
Duniam’s government opposite, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, said the Liberal Party was losing one of its “best and brightest”.
“There’ll be plenty of times when Senator Duniam and I are sparring, and he’ll say some pretty harsh things, as you’d expect a shadow minister to say, but the reality is, whenever there’s been something squarely in the national interest, I’ve never seen him be anything other than professional,” Burke said, pointing to the bipartisan support for the banning of hate groups, such as Hizb ut-Tahrir, earlier this year.
“That was shepherded through the Coalition processes by Jonno Duniam … we are a safer nation because that’s been done, and it wouldn’t have happened were it not for his leadership as well.”
Fellow Coalition frontbencher Phillip Thompson said he had spoken with Duniam on Sunday morning and was sad to see him go.
“I fully understand his reasonings, though,” Thompson told Sky News. “Missing anniversaries, missing birthdays, missing holidays, you know, being the shadow home affairs minister he’s always out and about on TV, travelling, always away from his family, and it takes a toll.
“He’s been a fierce warrior and a fierce servant of the political party, but also of the Senate. He’s been a mentor of mine, he’s someone I call regularly, and ask for feedback off and get, you know, some different angles. He’s a great man, great person, and I wish him well.”
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Brittany Busch is a federal politics reporter for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.From our partners
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