Brendan Nelson to quit politics early

Brendan Nelson will bow out of politics late next month, saying he wants to
encourage new blood into the Liberal Party.
The former minister for education and defence in the Howard government has called on
the party to get behind Malcolm Turnbull, the man who deposed him as opposition
leader after 10 months.
"The one thing that can be guaranteed is the Liberal Party will not win the next
election if it's not unified, if it does not have a sense of purpose," Dr Nelson,
51, told reporters in Sydney on Tuesday, as he announced his decision to quit.
It means a by-election some time in the next few months in his inner north shore
Sydney electorate of Bradfield which has a margin of 13.5 per cent, making it the
nation's safest metropolitan Liberal seat.
Mr Turnbull said the by-election, the date of which will be determined by the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, will be a test of the federal government's
economic management.
"Labor must take the opportunity at this by-election to explain why they have
amassed so much debt and how they will ask Australians to repay that debt," Mr
Turnbull said in a statement which also praised Dr Nelson.
Liberal sources say the long-serving former John Howard chief of staff, Arthur
Sinodinos, 52, is among a large field of potential candidates for Bradfield, first
held by former prime minister Billy Hughes in 1949.
Dr Nelson said he had considered his position since he announced in February he
would not recontest the next federal election, due late next year.
"It has become increasingly clear to me that Bradfield needs an energetic new
advocate and representative sooner rather than later," Dr Nelson said.
The call for new blood could be seen as a barely disguised swipe at long-serving
former Howard ministers, now on the backbench in safe seats, including neighbours
Philip Ruddock and Bronwyn Bishop.
Another former Howard minister and now backbencher, who plans to retire at the next
election, Peter Costello, wished him well, describing Dr Nelson as a man of "great
character and integrity".
Mr Costello said as opposition leader Dr Nelson was successful in two by-elections,
in Mayo and Gippsland, and had held the Labor government to account over prices and
broken promises.
"The Liberal Party acknowledges his great contribution," Mr Costello said in a
statement.
Opposition Senate leader Nick Minchin also praised Dr Nelson saying he had "served
our party and our country with extraordinary distinction".
"Brendan is a gifted parliamentarian, and a natural leader," Senator Minchin said in
a statement.
Mr Turnbull said Dr Nelson had increased defence spending as Defence minister and
overseen troop deployments overseas, and made significant reforms to education and
training as education minister.
"As leader of the opposition, Brendan began the process of rebuilding our party in
challenging times and we owe him a debt of gratitude for his service," Mr Turnbull
said.
Dr Nelson, who was elected in 1996, said he had no specific job lined up after
politics although he had not been short of offers in the past year.
A former GP who was once federal president of the Australian Medical Association, Dr
Nelson had been a member of the Labor Party for many years before seeking office.
Asked how the opposition would fare in the next election, Dr Nelson graciously
praised his successor who enjoyed a small increase in his personal popularity in the
latest Newspoll on Tuesday.
"Malcolm Turnbull is an extraordinarily intelligent and capable individual and we
are going through a difficult an challenging period at the moment," Dr Nelson said.
"But in politics anything is achievable, it's (winning an election after one term)
only been done once before."
As for a successor in Bradfield, Dr Nelson said he would encourage Mr Sinodinos or
anyone else in the party to come forward.
Potential candidates include barrister and grazier Paul Blanch, research fellow at
the Institute of Public Affairs Tom Switzer, Nelson staffer Simon Berger and Julian
Leeser, executive director of the Menzies Research Centre.