Keith Pitt made Ambassador to the Holy See in shock announcement
Outgoing Federal MP for Hinkler Keith Pitt announced he would exit politics late last year citing “frustration” and policy disagreements, and hinted at the time that an undisclosed new job opportunity was among the reasons for his decision. Now we know what that was.
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Anthony Albanese will appoint outgoing Hinkler MP Keith Pitt as Ambassador to the Holy See in what news.com today described as a shock diplomatic appointment.
Defying convention by naming a former opponent, Mr Albanese will follow in the footsteps of the Rudd government that also appointed a Nationals MP to the then newly-created diplomatic post at the Vatican.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd previously appointed former deputy prime minister Tim Fischer to become the nation’s first resident ambassador to the Holy See.
Mr Pitt announced he would exit politics late last year citing “frustration” and policy disagreements, and hinted at the time that an undisclosed new job opportunity was among the reasons for his decision.
“I’m wishing Peter Dutton all the best in 2025, but I’ve got a very unexpected opportunity. My wife has asked me every week since I started why am I still doing this? And I’ve finally got to the point where I’ve said, ‘Well, actually it’s time to let someone else have a go’,” he said.
“To be clear, there will be no by-election for the federal seat of Hinkler prior to the 2025 general election,” he said at the time.
The seat of Hinkler has more than 117,000 voters and covers the Bundaberg region and Hervey Bay community.
Mr Pitt leaves the seat with a 10.1 per cent margin.
In a statement he said he had told colleagues he would not be contesting the 2025 election. He called his time in politics “an incredible privilege … some extraordinary successes, many highs and some unfortunate lows”.
“In my view, political parties without purpose soon disappear … I just think there’s been a shift in terms of policy positions that is sold as discipline but it’s more about obedience.”
When asked about Mr Pitt’s comments earlier this year, the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, claimed Mr Pitt was “frustrated” at not being given a frontbench promotion.
Mr Pitt is the latest Coalition MP to announce their retirement ahead of the next election, joining Simon Birmingham, Paul Fletcher, Linda Reynolds, Karen Andrews, David Gillespie, Warren Entsch, Gavin Pearce and Rowan Ramsey.
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