'He was just 15': Outgoing MP Stephen Jones' heartbreaking speech one to remember

 Young Stephen Jones as he is only 60 years young in June 2025 …

*ABC - Labor minister Stephen Jones to retire on brink of election

Stephen Jones - Fighting Scammers, Fighting for Australians

Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones to retire from politics 

By Ronald Mizen

Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones will retire from parliament at the next federal election setting the stage for a reshuffle of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s economics team after the poll.

Mr Jones’ office confirmed his departure on Thursday morning, telling The Australian Financial Review he would retain his portfolio responsibilities until the election, which is due on or by May 17.

In a statement issued a short time later, the NSW Labor MP who entered federal parliament in 2010, thanked the prime minister for his friendship and support, and thanked everyone who had worked with him for over 15 years.

Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones will retire from parliament at the next federal election. Dominic Lorrimer

Mr Jones joins a growing list of Labor politicians who have decided to quit politics amid polls showing the party is headed for a minority government.

The latest Australian Financial Review/Freshwater Strategy poll shows the Coalition leads Labor 51 per cent to 49 per cent. Those figures have been unchanged for four consecutive months, and it is the seventh month the opposition has led the government.

Mr Jones holds the NSW seat of Whitlam, which covers parts of the Illawarra region and the Southern Highlands, which he won with 60.1 per cent of the vote in two-party terms at the last election.

Other departures include former Labor leader and minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill Shorten and fellow Victorian frontbencher Brendan O’Connor; former Indigenous affairs minister Linda Burney; and backbenchers Graham Perrett and Brian Mitchell.

Mr Jones, a senior member of Labor’s left faction, was a key feature of key political debates over the past term of Parliament, including in the Albanese government’s efforts to punish social media companies unless they pay for local news content; cracking down on scams; deregulating the financial advice sector; and boosting standards for superannuation fund customers.

His departure will open up a key role in Labor’s economics team, as the assistant treasurer also sits on the government’s powerful expenditure review committee of cabinet, which approves all new spending programs.

The 59-year-old’s decision also comes almost a year after he tied the knot to public sector union national president Brooke Muscat in a ceremony at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra.

ALP Comference Caring for Consumers

'He was just 15': Outgoing MP Stephen Jones' heartbreaking speech one to remember

By Glen Humphries

Updated January 30 2025

In Stephen Jones' 15 years in parliament it was a speech of heartbreak that stood out.

While the noise of parliament is so often made by politicians shouting weak jibes and insults at those opposite, on February 8, 2022, it got very quiet.

Whitlam MP Mr Jones stood up to speak against the "toxic debate" around the Coalition's religious discrimination bill - and he bared his heart.

"Last week, my family said farewell to my nephew Ollie," Mr Jones said.

"He was just 15 when he took his own life. No mother or father should have to endure this sight. No brother should have to clean up afterwards. He was a beautiful, creative, courageous young man. He was loved and accepted by his parents, by his family, by his friends and by his community.

"He was gay. He was uncertain about his gender, and he struggled with his mental health. But now he's gone ... clearly the love and acceptance of his family and friends were not enough."

I don't think it's the role of parliament to be telling individuals what their identity is or parents how they should be parenting

- Stephen Jones, outgoing Whitlam MP

He then spoke of his own son, Paddy, a gifted make-up artist who designed his own clothes and "moves seamlessly between the wardrobes of men and women". A then 14-year-old with "more courage than any other boy of his age".

"I love and support him unconditionally, and I brag about his talents to anybody who is willing to stop for two minutes and glance at his Instagram page," Mr Jones said on that February day in the nation's capital.

"But I worry myself sick every time he leaves the house. I think to myself, 'You look beautiful, but do you have to go out looking like that?' Because I know that the love and protection that he enjoys from his mother, his friends and his family is very different to the reception that he may receive in the outside world.

Stephen Jones son, Paddy Quilter-Jones in 2022, after his dad described him in parliament as having "more courage than any other boy of his age that I've ever met" Picture: Robert Peet

"Could this be the day we receive the call that says something has happened, that he has been attacked for just being who he is?"

'I thought it was dangerous'

When announcing his retirement Mr Jones listed government achievements he was proud to be a part of - rebuilding Medicare, the NDIS, the NBN, protecting superannuation.

But he also mentioned this speech he made three years earlier, almost to the day. It's a speech that justifiably means a lot to him - because it meant so much to others.

"I don't think it's the role of parliament to be telling individuals what their identity is or parents how they should be parenting," Mr Jones said in his electorate office on the day he announced his retirement.

"And I felt that very personally. More than that, I thought the conversation that the nation was involved in about people's sexual identity and gender identity was not only wrong, it was incredibly harmful because it was sending a very clear message to people that they weren't right and they weren't loved.

"I thought that was not only wrong, I thought it was dangerous.

"What we say in parliament matters, the tone with which we use our voice matters, and it was important to me. So when you talk about legacy, I think some of it is how we set the public conversation and how we talk about things that matter."

'My job is not done': Labor MP Stephen Jones announces retirement from politics

The assistant treasurer has called time on his 15-year career in parliament.

Stephen Jones will not be contesting his seat at the upcoming election. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas

KEY POINTS

• Stephen Jones has announced his retirement from politics.
• Jones is the assistant treasurer and minister for financial services.
• He is the fourth Labor minister to step down from politics before the federal election.

Stephen Jones, the assistant treasurer and minister for financial services, has announced his retirement from politics.

Jones has held the seat of Whitlam on the NSW south coast since 2010.

The Labor frontbencher said he is unclear on what he will do next but, at the request of the prime minister, will stay on in his portfolios until the federal election, where he will not contest his seat.

He thanked his family, the Illawarra community and his good friend, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, for placing "faith" in him to get the job done.

"It's the toughest job and the best job that I have ever had, and it has been an enormous honour," he told reporters on Thursday morning.

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Jones remained tight-lipped on what drove the decision, stating it was time to do "something else" after a lengthy 15-year term.

He is the fourth Labor minister to step down from politics before the election, alongside Linda Burney, Brendan O'Connor, and Bill Shorten.

Whitlam, previously Throsby, has been a Labor safe seat since its creation and is held by the party with a 10.9 per cent margin.

With parliament resuming next week, Jones said he looked forward to getting his Scam Prevention Framework across the line.

"My job is not done, I've got some work to do, get legislation through parliament," he said.

Stephen Jones highlighted gambling reform and standing up for marriage equality as among his prouest moments in parliament. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas

Jones is also known for his work on 

Buy Now Pay later reforms

, ensuring providers do credit line checks and adhere to minimum standards and hardship requirements.

Pressed on his proudest moments, the 59-year-old highlighted standing up for marriage equality and gambling reform, shying away from talks of legacy.

"It would be truly great to have a legacy, but the rest of us we are custodians, we do our best and we make sure the system we inherited is looked after and improved along the way," he said.

"And that is where I've put myself and it has been one of the great honours of my life to have been the member for this amazing area and a minister in this fantastic government."

Labor MP reveals family tragedy in speech 

09 Feb 2022, 7:41 am

Labor MP reveals family tragedy in speech

He ended the press conference with a plea to the Australian people ahead of the upcoming election.

"Australia's got to have a big story … there's got to be a place in there for everyone.

"We don't want to have a prime minister and government that goes down the route of saying, my path to government is by dividing Australians and saying to some Australians there's no place in the national conversation for you."

Urging voters not to choose division, Jones said: "I think we're better than that."