Stretton MP Duncan Pegg retires to fight cancer battle
A Brisbane southside Labor MP says he is no longer in a position to fight his cancer diagnosis and for his constituents at the same time.
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A popular Brisbane southside MP who grew his margin to one of the biggest in the Queensland in last year’s State Election has announced his retirement from politics after learning of a worsening outlook for his cancer diagnosis, first revealed in November 2019.
Stretton MP Duncan Pegg, first elected in the 2015 landslide which ousted former LNP Premier Campbell Newman, rose this afternoon in parliament for the last time to give his valedictory speech.
In an emotional speech which ended in a standing ovation, he said “with the heaviest of hearts” he would tender his resignation in the coming weeks.
“Up until this point, I have been able to effectively represent my local area while fighting against cancer,” he said.
“Based on my most recent medical advice, I will no longer be able to continue to both fight cancer and also fight for my local area in the manner in which my community deserves.
“I make this announcement with the heaviest of hearts. I do not want to leave this place and cease representing the community that I love.
“But I know that the decision to resign is the right one.
“Indeed, it is the only decision that is faithful to my values and work ethic.
“While I’m sad to soon be leaving this place, I am grateful to have forged so many fantastic memories, and achieved so much both locally and statewide.”
Mr Pegg, a former employment and insurance lawyer, had a successful parliamentary career, chairing numerous committees during his two-and-a-bit terms as the Member for Stretton.
They included the State Development, Tourism, Innovation and Manufacturing Committee; Innovation, Tourism Development and Environment Committee; Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee; and the Agriculture and Environment Committee.
In his three State Elections, he proved to be an electoral powerhouse; he swept to power in 2015 with a 14.5 per cent swing after preferences over his LNP opponent Freya Ostapovitch, holding the seat on a 5.4 per cent margin, which grew to 9.9 per cent in 2017 and 14.8 per cent in 2020, making it one of the state’s safest Labor seats.
Mr Pegg, who has lived in the Stretton electorate for more than 20 years, always nominated the multicultural makeup of his seat – which has the highest proportion of people born overseas in the state – and his efforts to facilitate that cohesion and colour within that as among the things which made him proudest as parliamentarian.
In his maiden speech to parliament on May 6, 2015, he said his support for multiculturalism “has been a guiding light in my political life”.
He said he joined the Labor Party in 1998, aged 17, to combat the rise of Hansonism, 1998 being the year Pauline Hanson’s One Nation secured 11 seats in the state parliament and almost one-quarter of the votes.
“The rise of Hansonism and One Nation saw a very different, and a very ugly, side of Queensland begin to emerge... Queenslanders are fundamentally decent, tolerant people,” Mr Pegg said.
He was awarded the Queensland Public Service Award by the Queensland Intercultural Society in 2017.
In addition to this, Mr Pegg highlighted in his valedictory speech the infrastructure and service delivery improvements he delivered to the voters of Stretton, not always the easiest of tasks in safe electorates.
He nominated the improvements to Beaudesert and Wembley roads, better bus stops on Gowan Rd, an intersection upgrade between Beaudesert Rd and Illaweena St, and fighting the closure of Illaweena St by Brisbane City Council in 2017 as among his sweetest victories.
He also expressed pride at securing the freedom after a year of local Kuraby father, Hazem Hamouda, who was thrown into prison in Egypt on no charges.
Mr Pegg was first diagnosed with cancer in late 2019, telling parliament on November 26 he was battling a common form of cancer, which was diagnosed during a routine check-up for a sore shoulder.
Then, he told the Southern Star he intended to remain the Member for Stretton while undergoing treatment: “I really want to fight this as hard as I can – I have fought for the community as hard as I can for five years and I am going to fight this cancer hard as well,” he said.
Now, however, Mr Pegg has decided it’s a battle too great to face while giving it 100 per cent to the people of Stretton.
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