Former Liberal senator Cory Bernardi has handed in his resignation from politics, to be effective immediately.
The independent, who started his own party called the Australian Conservatives in 2017 (which was disbanded last year), revealed that he 'just didn't want to go back to it'.
Senate President Senator Scott Ryan tweeted a statement about the matter, saying: "I have received a letter of resignation from Cory Bernardi as a senator for South Australia. The resignation takes effect immediately.
"I will shortly be writing to His Excellency the Hon. Hieu Van Le, Governor of SA, to inform him of this vacancy, which will be filled in accordance with Section 15 of the Constitution."
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The move will trigger a Liberal preselection battle in South Australia.
Mr Bernardi revealed last year that he was intending to throw in the towel after 13 years as a politician.
"The timing is right, I just don't want to go back to it next year, I feel in a very happy and comfortable place," he told Sky News.
"One of the great things is my integrity is intact. I feel very comfortable with who I am and what I have spoken about, and if I have regrets, there are very few."
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The now-former politician was elected in 2006 after Liberal Robert Hill resigned. He eventually left the party, just seven months after the 2017 federal election, to form the Australian Conservatives. Sadly for him, he had to disband the party after a poor performance at last year's federal election.
Mr Bernardi has certainly had a colourful career in politics, having criticised human-induced climate change, Islam, the LGBTQIA+ community, the ABC and abortion.
Over the years, the former-Senator said that if Australia legalised same-sex marriage, it would lead to similar legalisations of polygamy and bestiality. For those views he was accused of homophobia by then-Opposition leader Bill Shorten and had people protest outside his office.
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He was very vocal about trying to ban the burqa in Australia, but tried to justify his stance by saying: "Islam itself is the problem - it's not Muslims."
Mr Bernardi added: "When I say I'm against Islam, I mean that the fundamentalist Islamic approach of changing laws and values does not have my support."
He also attracted criticism for saying that it was dangerous for women to be seeking combat roles in the Australian military.
Featured Image Credit: Office of Senator Cory BernardiTopics: News, Australia, politics
