Australia’s Long-Serving Politician Resigns, Leaving a Legacy of Leadership

SYDNEY: After a remarkable 16-year tenure in parliament representing a Sydney suburb, the seasoned politician Scott Morrison has declared his resignation, effective next month.

Citing a pursuit of new challenges in the global corporate sector, he leaves behind a legacy marked by leadership during the 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires and the Covid-19 pandemic, where he implemented stringent border closures.

Known for staunch support of the fossil fuel industry, he famously brought a lump of coal into parliament. Despite a lack of evidence, he consistently asserted arson’s prominence over climate change as a cause for wildfires.

His term was also characterized by diplomatic secrecy, notably irking France with a clandestine deal for US and British nuclear submarine technology, rupturing a longstanding agreement with Paris.