Nationals ‘member for Manila’ George Christensen to bow out
George Christensen will not contest the next election in a blow for the PM who needs to replicate his strong 2019 showing in Queensland.
Coalition MP George Christensen will not contest the next federal election in a major blow for a Morrison government needing to replicate its strong 2019 showing in Queensland at the next election.
Mr Christensen, 42, told colleagues of his decision this week and revealed the resignation to regional branch members on Thursday night.
The four-term Nationals MP was elected to represent the north Queensland seat of Dawson, based around Mackay, in 2010.
A former Mackay councillor, Mr Christensen had the pulse of his conservative-minded electorate and holds the seat with a margin of 14.61 per cent, which he increased by 11.24 per cent at the 2019 election.
Mr Christensen did not return calls this week but multiple sources confirmed the decision.
One of his colleagues told The Australian Mr Christensen had been considering his future in politics since the coronavirus pandemic made it difficult for his wife, April Asuncion, who is from The Philippines, to visit her family.
Mr Christensen had been dubbed the Member for Manila after it was revealed he had taken at least 28 trips to The Philippines between 2014 and 2018.
In a video on his Facebook page on Thursday night, Mr Christensen said he had only intended to serve three terms in parliament but had stayed on because of the “threat that a green-tinged Labor government” posed.
“While I’ve been repeatedly encouraged by the party, my colleagues, staff and voters to run again, reality is for the past year I’ve been separated from my family who have been caught up overseas because of the pandemic,” Mr Christensen said.
He said he had grown increasingly concerned about the state of politics in Australia, but stopped short of criticising the government. “Politics just does not seem to be working when it comes to issues that seem to matter to me and many others,” he said.
“Unfortunately, I’m not so sure anymore that these issues can be properly fixed by legislation and via the ballot box.”
He derided “mainstream media” and “other cultural institutions” that have a “dominant influence over our politics” and were unrepresentative of Australian values.
He said he would have a “stronger, more unfiltered voice outside of parliament” but threw his support behind the Coalition.
The resignation damages the Coalition’s prospects in regional Queensland and is a blow to Scott Morrison, whose hopes of being returned as Prime Minister hinge on holding Queensland seats.
Political analysts say the Coalition’s buffer in Dawson is inflated by up to 10 per cent by the unpopularity of Bill Shorten and Labor’s ambiguous stance on coalmining, a significant employer in regional Queensland.
Mr Christensen is the third Queensland Coalition MP this year to be sidelined from the upcoming election, slated to be held within a year.
At times seen as a rogue MP, he is a staunch conservative and Christian who has been against abortion and was well known for anti-Islam and anti-China views and his rejection of climate change science.
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