One of the Liberal Party’s few rising stars who’s respected in most pockets of politics is suddenly pulling up stumps.

Shadow Home Affairs Minister Jonno Duniam has announced he’s retiring at the age of 43.

It brings an end to a 25-year political career representing Tasmania, including a decade in federal politics.

Cryptically, he said his decision was a “leap of faith” and he had no plans for what was next, other than it would not involve politics.

SENATOR’S SON: “I THOUGHT THIS DAY WOULD NEVER COME”

That leap of faith may have been connected with his own Christian faith which he spoke about to Vision Radio earlier this year.

In announcing his decision he said: “There’s an element of thinking that I am letting down my party by going [by the end of the year].”

“But at the end of the day I have to make a choice that’s right for my family, in particular my three sons who have often come second to the work that I do.”

“When I brought home the Sunday Tasmanian [reporting the resignation] and sat it on the table, my youngest son when he saw it, said: I thought this day would never come.”

SENATOR AND HIS WIFE ARE KEEN LISTENERS TO VISION RADIO

Earlier this year Vision Christian Radio’s 20Twenty presenter Neil Johnson received a welcome surprise when he interviewed Senator Duniam.

He revealed he was a regular listener to Neil’s podcasts — and a big fan of the Vision Christian network.

He told Neil he often tunes in when at his Hobart home:

“We are avid listeners of Vision Christian Radio, Neil, and contributors to the Visionathon.”

“VISION IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR MEDIA LANDSCAPE”

“My wife will often consume the podcasts that you have through your app.”

“So we are big supporters of what this radio network does across the country.”

“I think it brings a perspective that you won’t get on other free-to-air radio and commercial stations, and certainly not some of the government-funded ones.”

“We are grateful for that and we think it’s an important part of our media landscape.”

SENATOR’S CHRISTIAN BACKGROUND

Senator Duniam also gave listeners an insight into his Christian background.

“I am a member of St Clement’s Anglican Church in Kingston, just south of Hobart here.”

“I wasn’t raised a Christian. I wasn’t raised in a Christian household. I did go to Catholic schools for my primary and secondary education.”

“It wasn’t until I met my wife that I actually considered this whole idea of being a Christian and what it meant for life and the choices you make.”

CHURCH LIFE IN HOBART

“That was when I started university at 18 years of age and it was only a couple of years later that my wife and I became a married couple.”

“We joined a church down in Tassie called Cornerstone and had been a part of that for a short period when we moved to Canberra for a short period of time.”

“I had been a member of that church for 20 odd years and have recently moved, because our kids have gotten to an age where they need to be a part of a good, robust and active youth group.”

“The church where we were didn’t have one of those, and the one we’ve gone to does, which is a real blessing.”

“I DON’T KNOW HOW ANYONE CAN BE IN POLITICS WITHOUT A CHRISTIAN FAITH”

In an indication that retirement may have been on his radar for some time, he told Vision Radio: “Obviously I work in a profession that consumes nine-tenths of my life.”

“I do not know how anyone could be in elected life without actually being of the Christian faith to know that there is something greater, that there is a reason for doing things, that there’s a guide for us on how we should conduct ourselves and the way we should approach decisions. I don’t know how people do it.”

“So I’ve looked to others who are also in politics and of faith and they’re from a range of different political parties.”

“We often do coalesce and congregate and talk about things with that faith perspective.”

SENATOR UNDERLINES THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER IN HIS JOB 

Senator Duniam was asked: There’s the politician who says I’m a Christian and there’s the politicians who carry those values into their parliamentary career. Do you put yourself into that second category?

“I endeavour to and obviously, whether I’m right in trying to put myself in that category or not is a matter that I’ll be judged on at the end of my days.”

“But for example, the times I’ve not prayed ahead of doing an interview are the times I’ve stuffed up. “

“The times I have not prayed, ahead of giving a speech are the times I stuffed up.”

“WHEN YOU DO THINGS UNDER YOUR OWN STEAM, YOU ARE BOUND TO FAIL”

“When you try and do things under your own steam, your own intellect, with your own ambitions, with your own views, with your own understanding of things, without seeking that Holy Spirit-guided wisdom that can only come from God, then you are bound to fail.”

“I think any of your listeners could see that so many times over — both in the individual sense, when it comes to community leaders and politicians, but in the collective or global sense of what happens in a parliament.”

“When we are walking away from God’s will and God’s intention, how we get it wrong.”

“The people that suffer at the end of the day are your listeners, the voters.”

CHRISTIANS NEED TO DO THEIR OWN RESEARCH ON POLITICAL ISSUES 

“I encourage active participation in the democratic process from Christians.”

“And you know, there are tough issues we have to deal with.”

“As Christians, I’ve always believed that we have an added responsibility to do our research in relation to who we are voting for and what they stand for.”

“We have a job, a duty to this charge when it comes to ensuring we elect the right government for our country with the right plans in alignment with our views, our values and our beliefs as Christians.”

“When the policies are out there, go and look beyond the headline, beyond the three lines that might be on their webpage and find out what they mean and what it could mean for the country in terms of impacts in society.”

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