Tasmanian Speaker Michelle O’Byrne has announced she will not seek preselection for the next state election, ending a 28-year political career that saw her become one of Labor’s most prominent figures.
The Bass MP made the announcement during a valedictory speech to parliament, saying she would step down “whether it be in weeks or months to come” as Tasmania braces for an early election to be called.
O’Byrne’s departure creates a significant vacancy in her marginal northern seat of Bass, with her retirement expected to reshape Labor’s campaign strategy for the upcoming poll.
The 28-year veteran served six years as a federal MP before returning to state politics for 19 years, rising through the ranks to become a minister and eventually Speaker.
“I am a product of Labour’s affirmative action reforms,” O’Byrne told parliament, crediting the party’s 50% rule for women’s preselection as pivotal to her career.
She championed mental health reform, same-sex adoption rights and abortion decriminalisation, as well as introducing Australia’s first abortion clinic access zones.
The Speaker praised the current parliament’s improved behaviour after describing the previous term as “the most dysfunctional and toxic parliament” that she had ever been a member of.
O’Byrne warned that “saying someone has thick skin is not a licence for abuse” and called for more respectful debate.
“We have to learn to disagree in a more respectful way,” she said, urging parliamentarians to show greater maturity regardless of whether minority or majority government emerges from the next election.
O’Byrne’s announcement comes as her brother David O’Byrne, a former Labor MP turned independent, prepares to recontest his Franklin seat.
“I do not leave this house disendorsed or defeated because it is actually the right time for me to go,” she concluded, promising to continue advocating as a citizen while spending time with loved ones.
