O’Brien says ‘George, please don’t go’ as controversial MP heads for retirement

“Regardless of which side of politics you support, parliamentarians who speak up and don’t always toe the party line are rare and valuable,” Mr O’Brien tells his 4000+ Facebook followers as the controversial Dawson MP ponders retirement.

Federal Member for Wide Bay Llew O'Brien has signed a petition asking fellow National and Dawson MP George Christensen to reconsider his decision not to contest the next election.Â

Federal Member for Wide Bay Llew O’Brien has signed a petition asking fellow National and Dawson MP George Christensen to reconsider his decision not to contest the next election.

Mr Christensen made the shock retirement announcement in April, revealing he would not stand at the next federal election due to family commitments.

Posted by Llew O'Brien MP on Sunday, July 11, 2021

Coalition MPs soon questioned if Mr Christensen would renege on his decision to retire after the Mackay-based politician failed to withdraw his candidacy for the seat of Dawson.

Federal Member for Dawson George Christensen. PICTURE: MATT TAYLOR.

But Mr Christensen said “the situation had not changed” in a statement to the Courier-Mail late last month.

Nationals senator Matthew Canavan said this week he was “disappointed” to see his “good mate” leaving, sharing a petition asking him to reconsider on his Facebook page.

And Mr O’Brien did not take long to join the call.

“Regardless of which side of politics you support, parliamentarians who speak up and don’t always toe the party line are rare and valuable,” Mr O’Brien told his 4000+ Facebook followers.

Wide Bay MP Llew O'Brien speaks in parliament.

“George Christensen has been a tireless advocate for his blue collar workers, as well as being vocal on issues such as Julian Assange and the list goes on and on. I’ve signed the petition and if you’d like to see George stay I’d encourage you to also.”

The petition, which closed on Tuesday (July 13), attracted some 1181 signatures.

The Dawson MP has never been far from controversy throughout his tenure, attracting attention for his views and criticism on climate change, Islam, abortion, and more recently the Covid-19 pandemic.

Just last month Mr Christensen came under fire over social media comments he made about Queensland’s snap three-day lockdown.

Mr Christensen took to his official Facebook page in response to the lockdown, writing: “How about some perspective instead of the pandemic fear porn being spread by opportunistic politicians, bureaucrats and the mainstream media?”

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Mackay Mayor Greg Williamson slammed the comments, describing them as “ very disappointing” and urging residents to follow official government health advice.

Originally published as O’Brien says ‘George, please don’t go’ as controversial MP heads for retirement