Dawson MP George Christensen’s retirement raises more questions than answers
Critics of Mr Christensen have suggested his change of heart means there’s something the people of Dawson are not being told, Melanie Whiting writes.
Mackay
Don't miss out on the headlines from Mackay. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Anything can happen during a week in politics.
There's no better example of this than what we saw in Mackay during George Christensen's shock retirement.
On April 14, after inquiring about the Dawson MP's intentions for the next federal election, the Daily Mercury was told by Mr Christensen's office that he "had renominated to be the LNP candidate for Dawson."
Just eight days later, news broke of his shock decision to retire at the next federal election, slamming Australia's "broken" state of politics and warning he won't be going away quietly.
Bizarrely, the Dawson MP then posted a video to his loyal Facebook followers stating he would "not be renominating as a Liberal National Party candidate for the seat of Dawson at the next election".
Confusing, isn't it?
Mr Christensen's retirement left many in the media and community wanting to know more.
But those questions were left unanswered, because the outspoken MP did not make himself available for interviews the morning after his announcement, citing "prior commitments".
Instead of facing local media and the wider community, Mr Christensen left the region to catch up with Drew Pavlou of Defend Democracy.
Critics of Mr Christensen have suggested his change of heart in deciding to bow out of the election race means there's something the people of Dawson are not being told.
A spokeswoman for the Dawson MP hit back at this suggestion as "nonsense".
More stories:
Where our MPs stand on call for national women's summit
Christensen says 'no' to COVID vaccine passports
She said there was no other reason why Mr Christensen would want to retire, apart from the reasons he had already publicly stated.
"The party set a due date for nominations of March 19 and George submitted a nomination at that point with the intention of recontesting the seat of Dawson for the LNP," the spokeswoman said.
The spokeswoman said Mr Christensen had no intentions to start his own political party and did not feel he had let constituents down in walking away after securing such a huge swing during the past federal election.
It's fair to say Mr Christensen's retirement has raised questions and people in our community have demanded answers.
We will continue to ask the questions you raise.
Watch this space.
Subscriber benefits:
How to activate your free Courier-Mail subscription
How to get Daily Mercury news straight to your inbox
Your dose of Harry Bruce cartoons
Originally published as Dawson MP George Christensen’s retirement raises more questions than answers
Join the conversation
Farewell Frank: Wife’s tribute to miner ‘loved by everyone’
The heartbroken wife of a miner killed in a tragic workplace death at a Qld mine has paid tribute to an amazing man who was ‘loved by everyone’. Read her moving words.
Read more
$13m on Friday, $20m on Monday: School cashes in on vote grab
Labor has thrown $20m at a Far North Queensland school just days after the LNP pledged $13m, with the cash splash sparking an inevitable war of words.
Read more