Jann Stuckey: Former Currumbin MP reveals truth about ‘darkest days’

In a remarkably candid interview, Jann Stuckey has opened up about her final months as MP for Currumbin – and the struggles she has faced since stepping down.

The view from Jann Stuckey’s bedroom window is priceless … a framed view of turquoise waters endlessly peeling into waves that crash upon Bilinga beach.

But last year, the former Currumbin MP couldn’t bear to look. Instead, her blackout curtains were tightly drawn closed. 

“I couldn’t let myself look at the sea,” she says, now sitting just metres from the shore at the Bilinga SLSC where she serves as a patron.

“The temptation was just too strong that I would walk into the waves and never come back.”

The close of Jann’s 16 year-career as the LNP representative for Currumbin is infamous … ending as it did with her revelation of a personal mental health battle, followed by a blaze of acrimonious accusations and, ultimately, her resignation from the party.

But behind the headlines is actually a love story. 

It’s a tale of passion, sacrifice, betrayal, heartache and, yes, a breakdown.

It’s the story of the relationship between Jann and the Currumbin electorate, and it’s a lesson in letting go.

“I stayed too long,” she says, “I rode the ferris wheel all the way around. I went up to the top and then I came down, but I didn’t get off when I should have.

“After we (the LNP) lost in 2017 the party did its usual naval gazing but nothing changed. I should have seen that and not run again.

“But I have always bled for Currumbin, so I couldn’t let her go. It’s been so hard because of the way things ended … but in reality, she was never mine.”

Former Currumbin MP Jann Stuckey. Picture: David Clark.

In January last year, Jann announced she would leave politics due to an ongoing battle with depression, stating an increasingly toxic political environment in the parliament and bullying among MPs. 

Her relationship with her party deteriorated after the LNP decided to support candidate and now-Currumbin MP Laura Gerber over her branch’s preferred replacement, barrister Chris Crawford, ahead of the March 28 Currumbin by-election. 

In March, both she and husband Dr Richard Stuckey quit the LNP, with Dr Stuckey later running unsuccessfully against Ms Gerber in the state election on a platform of Voluntary Assisted Dying.

Jann says while what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, it really did almost kill her.

“If you have never experienced anxiety or depression, you will never understand how completely terrible it is,” she says.

“I was not given any support. Comments made to media by certain females after I resigned about how I had a ‘mental illness’ were insulting and designed to make me sound unstable. 

“Those were incredibly dark days for me. All I could do was close the blinds and lie in bed under the covers. 

“Now, thank goodness, I am getting my mojo back and I know that I definitely made the right decision to leave – even though the circumstances were heartbreaking for me.

“If you have depression and don’t remove the triggers that are causing it you can’t get better. And now I know that there is life after politics.”

Jann Stuckey at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. Photo: Facebook

But for Jann, her life will always be centred around the seat and the community of Currumbin.

After all, way back in 2004, Jann wrested what was a safe Labor seat at a time when the Liberals numbered three MPs in state parliament and were not in coalition with the Nationals - and she did so with a massive swing of 17.7 per cent, taking the only seat off Labor in that election.

She then won Currumbin at the next five elections - quite the achievement given that, on paper, it should be fertile territory for Labor.

During her 16-year tenure, she was the Minister for Tourism, Major Events, Small Business and Commonwealth Games, and her shadow portfolios included Tourism, Sports and Racing, Small Business and Manufacturing, Job Creation, Fair Trading and Industrial Relations, Public Works, Information and Communication Technology, Child Safety and Women.

But in 2018, after supporting Labor’s bill to legalise abortion in a conscience vote, she felt like an outsider in her party. And more than 15 years of fighting for her community and countless hours of work began to take their toll.

“I had my first anxiety attack in April 2019, standing at the top of the stairs at the Tugun Surf Life Saving Club when I was about to go into a meeting. These were people I knew, but I knew I couldn’t do it. I felt sick.

“I managed to make it home … I got inside and just burst into tears. I rang (husband) Richard, who was interstate, and told him I just had a breakdown.

“Throughout May I was pretty fragile. I saw my GP and he said I had anxiety, and if left untreated it will become depression. But I thought this will pass, I can handle it. And that was a big mistake.

“I invited (then-LNP president) David Hutchinson and Chris Crawford to dinner in the parliament and I broke down. I told them I was not going to run at the next election but I was worried I wouldn’t make it to the end of the term … but I wasn’t a quitter. The party was well aware of my struggle.

“We went into Budget week and I asked to be one of the last speakers, and I tearfully announced that I would not contest the next election. In retrospect, I’m glad I had that moment … it was like a farewell speech, even the Labor members came over and hugged me, right then I felt like it would be so hard to let go.”

While Jann fought to survive until the next state election, she says the beachfront festival SandTunes broke her.

The music event was meant to take place on Coolangatta beach, headlined by the likes of Travis Scott, Logic and Carly Rae Jepsen, but faced fierce backlash from local residents and businesses.

“I love to see music events and festivals on the Gold Coast, I was a huge advocate for the Big Day Out festivals … but festivals for 35,000 people do not belong on the beach,” says Jann.

“From public safety to the effects on business to our right of access to public amenity, to pollution, to trading … on every level, this event was a fail. 

“I polled our community and the response was fervent – 900 local residents responded they did not want SandTunes.

“There were other official people against it but I was the one who pulled us together so we could find a new venue - ultimately that meant it was my head on the chopping block.

“We managed to get it moved to Metricon – which was where it always belonged – but then it was cancelled by the organisers. Yet the promoter blamed me personally, he named and shamed me.

“Suddenly I was receiving death threats because of that. I rang the police and asked for protection, my address had been published and I was worried for my safety. My anxiety was through the roof.

“I had to take all of October off. I missed two sittings of parliament and no one even noticed. A couple of backbench colleagues called to check in on me but none of the leaders.”

Jann Stuckey and Dr Richard Stuckey. Picture: Regina King.

Jann says she felt personally betrayed, particularly by her Gold Coast colleagues with whom she had worked for so long. But she says they have never truly worked as a team.

She says she wrestled with making a decision over her future, but ultimately knew she had to make a call for her own survival.

“I had always wanted to retire at 65 … and I turned 65 on January 21, and I knew that I couldn’t go any longer.

“I sent a private letter to every single one of my colleagues letting them know of my decision. I gave (then-leader) Deb Frecklington the heads up, which is more than anyone ever gave me, and I tried to leave with my head held high.

“My last day was February 1, I gave myself time to pack up my office and say goodbyes, I wanted to do it properly and respectfully. That’s Jann’s way.

“I had cleared the way for preselection for the party like they wanted me to, and I knew we had a great candidate but they chose to parachute in a total stranger. That was the final knife.”

While Jann remains deeply disappointed with the Currumbin preselection process, she says she is now in a far better place.

Ironically, she says the pandemic was good for her … giving her time to retreat and recover.

“In 2020 I was so fragile, then I had to live through the by-election that was my ‘fault’ and then the state election, it was tough. But what helped get through it was the literally thousands of Currumbin residents and former contacts who sent me thank you messages well wishes.

“By Christmas 2020, I was the happiest I’ve been in a long time. 

“I’ve realised I still want to be involved in the community, and this year I’ve been working towards becoming a Justice of the Peace as well.

“I want to be an advocate for our border communities too, and I’d love to see Queensland get a cross-border commissioner like NSW to sort out our unique challenges.

“I’m proud of what I achieved – against the odds and mostly in opposition. I came into Currumbin fighting for a better M1 and I’m leaving with it being constructed.

“But I’m done with politics itself. The truth is that the game has changed, any friendliness has gone. It’s all ‘us’ and ‘them’ … in those last years, even when we would walk into the chamber there would be physical jostling and jibes – it’s intimidating and it’s disgusting, and it’s from both sides.

“Still, I’ll never stop fighting for the Currumbin I love and am ready to embrace a truly exciting new project.”

With that, Jann looks out at the sea. And she is no longer afraid. 

Originally published as Jann Stuckey: Former Currumbin MP reveals truth about ‘darkest days’