Not with a bang, but a by-election.
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After puzzling observers as to why he contested the last election with such a heavy, negative political load, he stunned everyone outside his Melbourne seat of Aston after becoming one of the very few federal Victorian Liberal MPs to be voted back in.
Alan Tudge is finally calling time on a tainted political career that oversaw "car park rorts" and later found unlawful robodebt, while running a culture wars agenda in his education portfolio and being exposed for an extramarital affair with a staffer.
When it came to it, he spoke of the difficulties of the decision, time away from family, his health, public abuse and death threats.
The job in politics was, "one of the greatest honours" of his life, where he pursued his passion in social policy.
"It's time to pass the baton," he told the full house.
No regrets, no sorrow, until he faltered talking again of his children.
Such is the tortured nature of it all, his former staffer and lover, Rachelle Miller, was present in the public gallery to watch the end.
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A fraught relationship with a politician-staffer power imbalance. And only last week at the robodebt royal commission, she was there spilling the beans on the dark arts of media manipulation used to devastating effect to quash legitimate stories about devastating false debts. What a wake up call for compliant sections of the media.
Her job was to protect Mr Tudge. It worked until, under the weight of robodebt's automated cruelty, it could not.
![Alan Tudge MP announces his retirement. Picture by Keegan Carroll Alan Tudge MP announces his retirement. Picture by Keegan Carroll](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/128375134/027abe76-6d6f-420b-b8f5-53eadd45d333.jpg/r0_222_5000_3044_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Not long before Mr Tudge spoke, the Minister for Government Services Bill Shorten reminded all of the robodebt toll.
From 1 July 2017, a total of 764,000 Australians were unlawfully accused of defrauding the Government and slapped with robodebt notices, he advised.
"What if they heeded the pleas of the victims? Could this illegal scheme have ended in July of 2017? Now, we will never know," he posed.
![Alan Tudge MP. Picture by Keegan Carroll Alan Tudge MP. Picture by Keegan Carroll](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/128375134/1a2fa0f1-ec8e-4019-9f05-d732f47de4f2.jpg/r1511_356_5000_2567_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The political chapter ends, but we are still yet to hear what the royal commission will find. Is the former Human Services Minister responsible? Is anyone?
The first question that springs to mind is what took him so long? Mr Tudge has been filling time and not engaging with the opposition education portfolio since being returned in May.
His Thursday appearance to formally resign was the first time he attended the harsh light of question time this week.
The main game is who will replace him, most punters would think former Treasurer and former member for Kooyong Josh Frydenberg should be firmly in the frame. There had been suggestions of some sort of switcheroo since the election.
However, sources close to Mr Frydenberg say he is not running.
Peter Dutton may be relieved to hear that, but it will be a significant challenge for the Coalition to keep the now marginal seat. Will they run a female candidate?
Mr Tudge said the Liberal Party is bolstered by emerging talents. Let's see them.
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