First-term Liberal MP Dan Cregan quits politics

First-term Liberal MP Dan Cregan has made a shock call to step away from politics. Find out why.

First-term Liberal MP Dan Cregan has shocked his party by declaring he will quit politics at next year’s state election.

Mr Cregan, who holds the Adelaide- Hills-based seat of Kavel, which includes Mt Barker and Hahndorf, is likely to return to the legal profession after leaving parliament.

“The law has been a significant part of my life and I’ve received offers to return to practice which I’m giving some thought to,” the 37-year-old Mr Cregan said in a statement.

Before entering parliament at the 2018 election, Mr Cregan worked for law firm Allen Linklaters and had been an associate to former chief justice John Doyle.

A colleague of Mr Cregan said he believed the departing MP had received “offers that were too hard to resist’’ from the legal world.

It is believed Mr Cregan had been considering his future for the last six months and had spoken to Premier Steven Marshall about his future.

Dan Cregan is leaving the Adelaide Hills seat Kavel, after entering Parliament in 2018. Picture: Keryn Stevens

The Premier said: “I am disappointed Dan has chosen not to run at the next election, and thank him for his service to the community since he was elected in 2018.’’

Mr Cregan recently generated controversy when he tabled emails in parliament that were critical of the conservative faction of the Liberal Party’s drive to recruit from the Pentecostal Christian community. Before that he had also crossed the floor to vote against his party’s mining bill.

In his statement, Mr Cregan said it had been a “true honour and privilege to serve my community.’’

“Particularly in the 18 months following the Cudlee Creek bushfire,’’ he said.

“I am also very thankful for the support of members across the political divide following the devastating Cudlee Creek bushfire, the worst natural disaster in my community since Ash Wednesday.’’