“Before handing over the baton, there is six months or so of hard work”: Finance Minister Cormann


FILE PHOTO: Australian Finance Minister Mathias Cormann arrives at G-20 plenary during the IMF/World Bank spring meeting in Washington, U.S., April 20, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

Australia’s Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has announced his decision to leave politics by the end of 2020, making way for a Cabinet reshuffle before the end of the year.

Cormann has been Finance Minister since the Coalition came to power in 2013, and is a senior voice in Australia’s Federal government.

“Having decided not to recontest the next election, I can confirm that I have advised the prime minister that the end of this year would be an appropriate time for an orderly transition in my portfolio,” he said in a statement.

“Before handing over the baton, there is another six months or so of hard work to be done in this job, to help manage a responsible transition out of this coronavirus induced crisis and to help finalise and set in train our five-year plan to maximise the strength of our economic and jobs recovery”, he added.

Mathias Cormann is an Australian Liberal Party politician and is a Senator for Western Australia since 2007. He has been serving as Minister for Finance since 2013, and is Australia’s longest-serving Minister for Finance, serving under the Abbott, Turnbull, and Morrison Governments since 2013.

His announcement to retire, has many, including those of the opposition, to share kind words of their experience with him.

PM Morrison tweeted:

Peter Dutton, Minister for Home Affairs:

Penny Wong, Labor Senator for South Australia shared: