Labor MP Tim Hammond defends move to quit politics before election

Rising star Tim Hammond has apologised to Bill Shorten and his electorate for quitting before next year’s federal election.

Outgoing federal member for Perth Tim Hammond with wife Lindsay and seven-month-old son Tully in Perth today. Picture: AAP

One of Bill Shorten’s rising stars, West Australian frontbencher Tim Hammond, has apologised after his bombshell move to resign from politics, citing the family pressures of being a Perth-based federal MP.

His resignation will trigger a by-election in Mr Hammond’s inner-city seat of Perth, which is held by Labor on a margin of just 3.3 per cent.

He faced the media today after announcing his move on radio and explained his decision.

“I acknowledge that by resigning from this role, it creates the disruption of a by-election,” he said. “That is the thing that has agonised me most about making the decision, because I know the inconvenience that places on my local community.

“I would just ask for their understanding, in that this is something that I know I have to do.”

Mr Hammond is the shadow minister for consumer affairs and was seen as a potential future leader of the Labor Party. He only entered federal politics at the 2016 election.

He previously contested the seat of Swan in the 2010 election

The 43-year-old told Perth radio station 6PR today that the job had caused him a “significant amount of unhappiness” due to the travel demands and the time spent away from his wife and three young children, who are aged six, three and six months.

“It just wasn’t working in relation to how present I needed to be at home as a dad to three wonderful little children,” he said.

“What’s fundamentally crucial to me is I’d never get this time back in terms of being an important figure in the lives of my kids as they’re growing up.”

“As much as I have tried desperately, I just cannot reconcile my life as a federal member of parliament with being the father I need - and want - to be to my three children.

“As a direct result of me being away from home, the strength of the relationships that I have built with my children have suffered in a way that is simply unsustainable for us as a family, and me as a dad.”

.@TimHammond1: I acknowledge that resigning creates the disruption of a by-election. It has agonised me most about making this decision. When I'm 75 and look back at my life, I want to know that I was there for my children.

MORE: https://t.co/esWDshXax9 #newsday pic.twitter.com/ikJ9N400kw

— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) May 2, 2018

Mr Hammond said a catalyst for his decision was his strong belief that Labor under Mr Shorten would win the next election.

He said the expectation that he would play a relatively senior role in a Labor government meant he would have been taken “further and further” away from his children at a time they needed him more than ever.

He apologised to voters in Perth for triggering a by-election but said he could not wait until Malcolm Turnbull calls the next election, which he believed would be next year.

Mr Hammond, a barrister, ruled out a return to public life at any time in the future and said he would go back to the Bar.

Shorten wishes departing MP well

In a statement, Mr Shorten thanked Mr Hammond for his service.

“By parliamentary standards, Tim is a young man and everything he had achieved to date pointed to a long and successful career in federal politics.

“But after two years of travel and a lot of time spent on the opposite side of the country, Tim has decided to put his family first. He wants to be there for his wife and children more often. That’s something all of us feel very deeply, and none of us can argue with.

“As a colleague and a friend, I’m disappointed he won’t be part of our next Caucus but as a husband and a father, I’m glad he’ll be with the people he cares about most in this world.

“Tim is a bright and hardworking member of our team, fit enough to run marathons but smart enough to let me beat him in the Perth parkrun.

“He brings a wonderful dry sense of humour to his politics, alongside a genuine passion for progress. I’m confident that a person of his qualities will achieve great success, whatever he turns to next.”

A lot of people, men and women, eschew federal politics because the time away from family is simply too brutal. Props to Tim Hammond for recognising his own priorities.

— Chris Kenny (@chriskkenny) May 2, 2018

Tim Hammond was a barrister who had only joined the Labor Party in 2008 before he won #Perth at the last election - he’s the out of box credible cleanskin candidate Labor needs. Now watch the unions circle this prized seat. #auspol

— Troy Bramston (@TroyBramston) May 2, 2018

Very sorry to hear about Tim Hammond’s resignation - he is a very decent, highly capable man - and it is true that federal politics from WA very tough on our families: https://t.co/xMiLmsu6yO #auspol

— Mathias Cormann (@MathiasCormann) May 2, 2018

Cormann lauds ‘a decent individual’

Federal Finance Minster Mathias Cormann, also a Perth-based MP, said he was “genuinely sad” to hear of Mr Hammond’s resignation.

“While we are political competitors, we are also friends and colleagues involved in the same profession focused on making a positive difference to our community and to our country,” he said.

“Tim is a very decent, highly capable individual with a bright future in whatever he decides to do next. Public service as a federal politician from WA is tough on our families. There is no question about that.

“So I understand and respect the decision that he and his family have come to. It is our State’s loss that Tim will now not continue to pursue his federal political career to its full potential.”

PERTH BY-ELECTION

* Inner metropolitan seat based in WA capital

* Boundary change before 2016 election made it more marginal for Labor

* Retiring Labor MP Tim Hammond won it in 2016, by reduced margin of 3.3 per cent

* Liberal candidate Jeremy Quinn won the primary vote (42.3 per cent) but Labor won on Greens preferences

* Previous member Alannah MacTiernan retired after one term

* Held continuously by Labor since 1983, but Liberal seat between 1975 and 1983.

* Likely Labor hold if Greens vote remains in double-figures * Liberal win would take government’s House of Representatives majority to two

Additional reporting: AAP