Queensland MP Duncan Pegg has announced that he is resigning from state politics to focus on his health and treatment for cancer.
The member for Stretton gave his final speech in Parliament on Thursday, where he said that it was “with the heaviest of hearts” that he will resign in the coming weeks.
“I’ve been fighting cancer since 2019. I’ve been fighting this fight alongside the 30,000 Queenslanders and 130,000 Australians who are diagnosed each year,” he told Parliament.
“Based on my most recent medical advice, I will no longer be able to continue to both fight cancer and also fight for my local area in the manner in which my community deserves.”
In an excerpt published by The Courier Mail, Pegg said he did not want to leave politics or stop representing “the community that I love.”
“But I know that the decision to resign is the right one,” he said.
“Indeed, it is the only decision that is faithful to my values and work ethic.
“While I’m sad to soon be leaving this place, I am grateful to have forged so many fantastic memories and achieved so much both locally and statewide.”
Pegg used part of his speech to discuss his support for euthanasia.
Following the speech, Pegg published a letter on Twitter hand-written on Parliamentary stationery.
“It has been an honour to represent the area I have lived in almost all my adult life,” he wrote.
Pegg said he was proud of everything he and his community had achieved during his time in office and that he valued the friendships he had made with many people along the way.
Pegg was first elected in 2015 and first announced that he was undergoing treatment for a common type of cancer in 2019.
He was awarded the Queensland Public Service Award from the Queensland Intercultural Society for his community work in 2017.
Prior to being elected to parliament, Mr Pegg worked as a lawyer focusing on employment and insurance law.
His resignation will trigger a byelection, but his electorate is considered a “safe” seat for Labor, which increased its margin by 5 percentage points to 14.8 at the October 2020 election.
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