Labor ministers Linda Burney and Brendan O’Connor will retire from politics and will not recontest the next election.
Burney, who is the Minister for Indigenous Australians, and O’Connor, who is Skills and Training Minister, will also step down from their positions in cabinet prompting a ministry reshuffle.
Burney was the first Aboriginal person to be elected to the NSW Parliament, where she served for more than a decade.
She then became the first Aboriginal woman elected to the Federal House of Representatives in 2016, when she won the Sydney seat of Barton.
O’Connor was elected to parliament in 2001 and has served as a minister in three Labor governments.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to the work of both retiring ministers, saying they had “made an outstanding contribution to our government and to our country” and he was proud to call them friends.
“I am proud to have witnessed first-hand their passion for this nation, their determination to leave the country better for their contribution as members of Parliament and as ministers,” he said.
Speaking of O’Connor, Albanese said: “You won’t find a more decent human being.”
“I deeply respect his judgement, I highly value his advice that I have sought not just in his portfolio but across a range of issues over a long period of time.
“I’m extremely grateful for his friendship.”
Albanese praised Burney’s “warmth and courage”.
“Anyone who has the honour of calling Linda a friend understands the great strength behind her warmth and the courage, that is the essence of her grace,” he says.
“This is remarkable proof that what Linda has drawn from everything she had to endure, it is not bitterness or despair. It is positive, it is one of hope and one of optimism for our nation.”
Burney had continued to advocate for First Nations People despite the setback of the Voice to Parliament last year, he said.
Albanese said their retirements would provide the opportunity for a cabinet “refresh”.
“This morning I’ve spoken with the Caucus chair, nominations will be called for frontbench positions to be filled in accordance with our Caucus rules,” he said.
A new ministerial lineup is expected to be announced on Sunday in Canberra.
