Jill Hennessy: Why I quit as Attorney-General

After her resignation as Attorney-General sent shockwaves through Victoria, Jill Hennessy reveals why she decided to step down.

Jill Hennessy. Picture: Mark Stewart

A COVID Christmas has prompted many of us to reflect on the things that are most important in life.

We really have taken some of our Christmas hallmarks for granted. Time with family, Christmas lunch leftovers and the comforting hum of cricket commentary as the soundtrack to our Boxing Day have been too easy to take for granted.

Instead we’ve complained about the traffic, Mariah Carey Christmas carols dominating the airways and obnoxious relatives picking fights on Christmas Day.

This year however, everything has changed. COVID-19 changed everything.

The separation from loved ones, the fear for health and wellbeing and economic consequences of COVID-19 has forced many of us to think.

Amid the unbearable moments this year, many have sharpened their focus on who we love and how we spend our time.

In my case I concluded my family is at a stage where they need more of me. And that I need more of them.

That’s why I’ve stepped back from being a minister in the Andrews Labor government and remain in parliament representing the wonderful communities of Melbourne’s West.

It was a tough decision, but I need to be more involved in the lives of my two daughters as they move through the last years of high school.

They are wonderful, smart girls becoming young women before my eyes, and despite the growing level of teenage sass, they continue to be my greatest source of joy.

Now is the right time, for as many of us who can, to get closer to our teenagers.

They did an amazing job this year, making as many sacrifices as their parents, and coping with disruptions we never had to endure at their age.

These kids dug deep this year and deserve the best we can give to help them make up for lost ground and opportunity.

I have nothing but admiration for those who put public service first for their whole life.

I salute especially those who support them and help hold the whole show together.

For most of us, managing the collision between work and family life is tough, and sometimes something has to give, at least for a little while. 

My career has been a series of zigzags around the real stuff of life.

Having babies, furthering education or retraining, illness and ageing parents are familiar things to most Victorians.

We juggle the demands of work with trying to be a good parent, partner or person. We sometimes feel like we do none of them well enough.

I am honoured to work with and know a lot of amazing people, especially women, who do this every day with far less support than I have had.

As we have celebrated those who have cared for us so selflessly through COVID-19, we should also remember the families who shared them with us.

It is in all of our interests to make sure our social and economic systems nourish carers and their families, whether their work be in a hospital or at home.

This year has made all of us think about what our new normal is going to be. At least for a little while my new normal needs to involve a more even balance between the life of my family, and my passion to represent communities and deliver good outcomes for them.

That is why I made the decision to take a step back, not a step down. I’ll be contributing in other ways to the community, the government and the parliament. Leaving the Victorian cabinet was a tough, but necessary decision.

There was simply no more stretch in the elastic band I’d wrapped around my family.

I know I will never regret spending more time with them. I know I will be wiser for all of the things I will learn helping my daughters prepare to make their own way.

This year has had an impact on every single Victorian. Everyone has done the best they could in an unprecedented and challenging set of circumstances.

The big effort to keep the community safe this year has been exhausting and involved many sacrifices. We should reflect on what is really important as we come together with family and friends this Christmas.

I’m sure that like me, the new normal for many Victorians will be committing to spend more time with the people we love. And that’s a good thing we can take out of this year.

Jill Hennessy is the Member for Altona District and outgoing Victorian Attorney-General