Joy Burch, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and Labor member for Brindabella, has announced she will not contest next year's territory election.
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Ms Burch said her career in the Assembly had been rewarding but the time had come to focus on things outside of politics, including her grandchildren.
It would also be a good time to step aside to provide someone new with a passion for their community to serve in the Assembly, she said in a statement issued after 6pm on Monday.
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"The Assembly is undoubtedly a place of big reform and legislative outcomes, yet it is also a wonderful parliament in that members have the opportunity to truly engage with and work for their local community," Ms Burch said in a statement.
"It has been through these interactions that I have met members of my community who have approached me needing what might seem like small things in the scheme of the broader work we do, but are actually needs that make a significant difference in improving their day-to-day lives."
Ms Burch, a former nurse, was elected in 2008 and has held the police, education, disability, arts and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs portfolios, among others. She will retire as the Assembly's longest-serving speaker after two terms in the role.
Ms Burch resigned from cabinet completely in January 2016 after resigning as police minister in late 2015, following allegations over her chief of staff's contact with Dean Hall, a powerful Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union official.
"I'm aware some may see me as a controversial figure as a minister," Ms Burch said when she resigned from her portfolios.
"The fact is when you challenge the status quo - when you go in and find things that need to be fixed - you will attract attention. I've never been afraid of drawing the ire of some, including vested interests, in order to make lasting and positive reforms for the good of our community."
Ms Burch's former chief of staff, Maria Hawthorne, was cleared of criminal conduct. Ms Hawthorne had resigned after it was revealed she had briefed Mr Hall about a meeting between Ms Burch and the ACT's chief police officer.
The Canberra Liberals had repeatedly called on Ms Burch to resign, including in 2013 after she retweeted a post on Twitter describing former federal Coalition minister Christopher Pyne as a "c---".
Then-opposition leader Jeremy Hanson again called for Ms Burch's resignation in February 2014 after she hired the National Multicultural Festival director who staged a burlesque performance including a Nazi strip tease.
In a statement, Ms Burch pointed to her work in securing the ACT as the first trial site for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, introducing compulsory English for year 12 students and securing a permanent home for Brodburger at the Canberra Glassworks in Kingston as achievements.
Ms Burch also became the first Assembly speaker to make an acknowledgement of country at the start of each sitting day in the traditional Ngunnawal language.
Ms Burch also oversaw the Assembly's response to a constitutional stand-off after a stop-work notice was issued on budget estimates hearings, saying at the time the notice cut across the separation of powers and it was a matter of "deep constitutional significance".
Chief Minister Andrew Barr on Monday said Ms Burch had brought integrity and fairness to the role of speaker and said he had always valued her advice and support.
"Joy has been a strong voice for Tuggeranong. Her strength as a local MLA was evident on election night in 2020 when she received the highest vote of any member in the Brindabella electorate. This is, in large part, thanks to her passion and dedication to her constituents," he said in a statement.
"Throughout her 16 years in the Assembly Joy has been well known for her local mobile offices, where she has tackled all issues, great and small, for her local community."
Mr Barr said Ms Burch had executed her role as speaker with "dignity and authority".
"It is a position that requires an understanding and considerate view of people, and she was always willing to work across party lines to maintain the order and function of our parliament," he said.
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
