Foreign minister Julie Bishop has resigned from cabinet, but says she has made no decision on whether she will stay in parliament beyond the next election.
In a statement posted online, Bishop, 62, announced: “today I advised the Prime Minister that I will be resigning from my Cabinet position as Minister for Foreign Affairs.
“I will remain on the backbench as a strong voice for Western Australia.
“I have been pre-selected by the Liberal party for the seat of Curtin and I have made no decision regarding the next election.”
Bishop’s resignation creates more unrest amidst the upheaval of the Liberal National Coalition government, as new Prime Minister Scott Morrison works to patch together a cohesive cabinet from the opprobrium of the Liberal party’s civil war last week.
Bishop ran against Morrison, and home affairs minister Peter Dutton in Friday’s leadership spill, but garnered only 11 votes in the party room.
She is understood to have been bitterly disappointed that a group of moderates tactically voted against her. She attracted no votes from her home state of Western Australia.
She has been rumored as a possible next Governor General of Australia, after General Sir Peter Cosgrove’s commission expires in March next year.
Source: The Guardian
-Agencies
