Alan Tudge quits politics, triggering byelection in Aston

Peter Dutton is facing the first major test of his political leadership with a byelection looming in the Liberal-held Melbourne seat of Aston, after former cabinet minister Alan Tudge quit politics.

Tudge has endured several political scandals in recent years including over his affair with former staffer Rachelle Miller, the allocation of funding for commuter car parks and the robo-debt scheme, which is the subject of a royal commission where he faced difficult questioning last week.

Tudge announced his resignation – effective from next week – less than a year after the 2022 election, when his two-party preferred margin was slashed from 10.1 per cent to 2.8 per cent.

His resignation immediately triggered discussion that former treasurer Josh Frydenberg could attempt to resurrect his political career, but that was ruled out by Victorian Liberal Party president Greg Mirabella.

A source close to the former treasurer, who asked to remain anonymous to speak freely, said Frydenberg loved being able to spend time with his kids, enjoyed his job at Goldman Sachs and would not decide until next year if he would throw his hat back into the federal politics ring.

The byelection is the first chance voters will have to deliver their verdict on Dutton as opposition leader. The Liberal Party will be desperate to hold onto Tudge’s seat but the challenge of doing so in Victoria, a state in which the party performed poorly in federal and state elections in 2022, will be considerable.

Labor Party strategists confirmed the ALP would campaign hard to win Aston at the byelection in a bid to increase the government’s lower house majority to two seats.

Tudge resigned in the House of Representatives on Thursday, citing the death of his father as cementing his decision to exit.

“My daughters, who are 18 and 16, know nothing other than their dad being away. They’ve had to put up with things that no teenager should have to, including death threats. The most recent of which was last week,” he told parliament.

He became emotional during his departure speech after thanking his supporters and pointing to the damaging impact of “anonymous comments through social media”. He was handed tissues and water as he paused for about a minute to compose himself before thanking his family.

Tudge became emotional and paused for water during his speech.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Dutton said Tudge had been under political and personal pressure in the lead-up to his resignation, and had been devastated by the recent death of his father.

Tudge had made a significant contribution to education policy in his time as minister, the opposition leader said.

“His contribution to public policy advancing the cause of Indigenous and young Australians as their minds experiment and explore and grow – that has been his particular passion,” Dutton said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese praised Tudge for showing respect to the parliament by resigning in the House of Representatives and meeting with him before the announcement.

Tudge was largely absent from the campaign trail for the 2022 election after a term in which he stood aside from his cabinet portfolio after his former lover and staffer, Rachelle Miller – who was in the public gallery during his valedictory speech – accused him of being emotionally abusive and at one point physically abusive. He denied the claims and two inquiries made no findings against him.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Milton Dick, will determine the timing of the byelection in consultation with the Australian Electoral Commission. A minimum of 33 days must elapse before the poll is held and the timing of the Easter break, which begins on April 7, could complicate matters.

Mirabella said he’d love to see a number of women stand for preselection in the seat, agreeing City of Melbourne councillor Roshena Campbell was a “strong contender” when it was put to him.

In addition to Campbell, who is also a barrister and columnist for The Age, several Liberal sources suggested two former state MPs – Catherine Burnett-Wake, and former Napthine government minister Nick Wakeling — will put their hands up as potential replacements, along with longtime Liberal figure Emanuele Cicchiello, and Guardian columnist and oncologist Ranjana Srivastava.

Three Victorian federal Liberal MPs said they were worried about the administrative committee imposing a candidate and warned the seat was definitely in play.

The ALP invested few resources to back its candidate, Mary Doyle, at the May 2022 poll with those same strategists pointing out that if the result in last November’s Victorian state election was overlaid on the federal seat, Labor would have won 51-49 per cent.

No decision has been taken on whether Labor will run Doyle again. A high-profile candidate or a union-backed candidate to ensure strong resources on the ground are also possibilities.

Simon Holmes a Court – the founder of Climate 200, which helped bankroll teal independent candidates who ousted several Liberal members at the last election, including Frydenberg – said he was open to helping an independent contest the byelection.

“If there’s a community group in Aston planning to run a pro-climate independent campaign, we’d love to hear from them. This is how we’ve always operated, we never start a campaign or get involved in community selection processes – but we’re here to ensure good, community-backed independents have a fighting chance against the party machines,” he said.

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