Former defence minister and WA Liberal senator Linda Reynolds has announced she'll stand down from politics at the next election.
Ms Reynolds was elected to the Senate in 2014, before being re-elected in 2016 and 2019.
She was first appointed to cabinet under the Morrison government as Minister for Defence Industry in 2019, before serving in several other portfolios.
In a statement posted to Facebook, Ms Reynolds said she would not seek Liberal Party pre-selection for another term beyond June 2025.
"For forty years I have proudly served my nation in the army, in the Liberal Party, in defence industry, in parliament and in government," she said.
"It is rare in politics to have the opportunity to choose the time and circumstances of your departure, and my decision has been made after considerable reflection of what is behind me and the opportunities that are now ahead of me."
Ms Reynolds went on to say the health of democracy and political parties could not be taken for granted.
"Both must be constantly renewed and strengthened," she wrote.
"I will of course keep working with my party to assist it to diversify and strengthen and do all I can to support the election of Peter Dutton as our next Prime Minister and Libby Mettam as WA's next Premier.
Higgins defamation case continues
Ms Reynolds is currently suing the ACT government, the territory's former top prosecutor and Brittany Higgins for defamation.
Ms Higgins claimed she was raped by a colleague in Senator Reynolds's ministerial office in 2019 and criticised her and her staff for failing to provide adequate support to her in the aftermath.
Ms Reynolds was hospitalised during the saga as a "precautionary measure" and took an extended absence from her role as then-Defence Minister.
She later apologised for and retracted a comment that Ms Higgins was a "lying cow", which she made on the day her former staffer went public with her allegation.
The legal action against Ms Higgins centres around two social media posts in which Ms Reynolds claims she was defamed.
The case against the ACT relates to a letter its former director of public prosecutions wrote to the Australian Federal Police during Bruce Lehrmann's now-abandoned rape trial.
No findings have been made against Mr Lehrmann who denied the accusations against him.
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Simon Birmingham was the first high-profile Liberal to pay tribute to Ms Reynolds in the wake of her announcement.
In a statement, he paid tribute to Ms Reynolds's "dedicated service, leadership and advocacy".
"I look forward to continuing to serve alongside Linda for the remainder of her term and extend my deepest gratitude for her service to our country," he wrote.
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2024-02-12 05:22:10Z
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