27 May 2019
I thank the Prime Minister for the opportunity to have served in his Cabinet and for his unstinting support for me as a Minister. I wish him and the Government well. His will be a great Prime Ministership.
The Prime Minister invited me to continue to serve in his Cabinet and was keen for me to do so in my current portfolio, but I sought another way to serve. I thank the Prime Minister for his announced intention to recommend to the Governor-General my appointment as the next Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations.
During my 15 years in the Senate I have served for a decade on the front bench including 6 years as a member of the Leadership Group having held the positions of Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate, Manager of Government Business in the Senate, Minister for Communications and the Arts and Minister for Disabilities and Aged Care.
I am proud through these roles to have reformed Australia’s media laws, overseen the near completion of the nbn, put in place the building blocks for a tougher approach to online regulation, prepared the way for the 5G revolution, laid the foundations of the NDIS, delivered greater choice for the aged in home care, provided policy and funding certainty for the arts and boosted support for Australian contemporary music and our national collecting institutions.
These things could not have been achieved without the support of my Coalition colleagues, the dedicated members of the Australian Public Service and the hard work of my wonderful personal staff. Those who serve in the offices of ministers make a commitment well beyond the professional and I thank them.
To serve the community in the Australian Senate and in the Cabinet is an honour which is only possible due to the faith Party members have placed in me to represent their values.
I thank my colleagues for their friendship and support and for all they have done and will continue to do for the nation.
These roles are not possible without the support and sacrifices of family. I thank mine to whom I owe everything.
The last decade and half in the Senate has been immensely rewarding and a great privilege, but this is the right time for me and my family to look to a new opportunity of service.
I look forward with relish to continuing to serve the nation in a new capacity.