WA Attorney-General John Quigley to quit politics at 2025 state election

John Quigley announced his decision to leave politics at a press conference on Monday morning. (ABC News: Cason Ho)

WA’s attorney-general and oldest sitting MP John Quigley has announced he will not contest the next state election.

He says he will serve out the remainder of his term as the state’s top law officer, and the member for Butler.

“[I] indicated that I would be prepared to serve in whatever capacity that our Premier chose … but, it was clear that I would not be a candidate for preselection for the 2025 election,” Mr Quigley said.

Mr Quigley has served as attorney-general since 2017 when the McGowan Labor government swept into power.

The 75-year-old said a summer of reflection had prompted him to decide to step down.

“I only came to serve. It’s not about me, it’s about what we [the Labor Party] stand for and what we hope to achieve,” he said.

“And I just think that at this particular point in time, that it’s the right time.

“At a time when there has been so much law reform, to pass the baton over smoothly … I’m on my last lap.”

Mr Quigley said the decision was entirely his own, and denied being pushed out.

“The ‘push’ implies something’s happening against your will. I have never been susceptible to people pushing me anywhere,” he said.

The ABC has been told by multiple Labor sources there was pressure on Mr Quigley to resign to create a space in Parliament for the Premier’s Chief of Staff, Daniel Pastorelli.

It’s understood Mr Pastorelli had been eyeing the seat of Landsdale, which will be vacated when Labor’s Margaret Quirk retires at the next election.

Current party president Lorna Clarke’s name had been against the seat — meaning an opening had to be found for her elsewhere.

Mr Quigley’s seat of Butler became the solution for some, including because of questions about the attorney-general’s age.

That arrangement would see Mr Pastorelli run in Landsdale and Ms Clarke pre-selected in Butler.

Clive Palmer clashes mark late career

There had been speculation ahead of a late 2022 cabinet reshuffle that Mr Quigley would lose his portfolios, something he called “nonsense” at the time.

That came after he had to publicly apologise and correct the record about evidence he gave in a high-profile defamation case between Queensland businessman Clive Palmer and former WA premier Mark McGowan.

The attorney-general was described as being a “confused witness” during the case.

“Certainly it was a slip under pressure. I got one day wrong … but in the trial, it was inconsequential,” he said.

That came after an earlier High Court victory over Mr Palmer, when the mining magnate attempted to sue the state for up to $30 billion over an iron ore project — something Mr Quigley described as one of his proudest moments.

“A cracker of a night was when we brought Clive Palmer down,” he said.

End of long parliamentary tenure

Mr Quigley was elected as the Member for Innaloo in 2001, and was re-elected in subsequent electoral redistributions to the seats of Mindarie and Butler.

Before that, Mr Quigley was a practising lawyer for 25 years, primarily in criminal law.

During his tenure as attorney-general, the state government enacted laws that removed time limitations on victims of child sexual abuse from taking legal action, along with laws preventing people convicted of murder, who refuse to cooperate with authorities to locate the victims’ remains, from applying for parole.

Mr Quigley also committed to reforming laws that allow the indefinite detention of people deemed mentally incapable of standing trial or being convicted of a crime.

In 2008, Mr Quigley accused “corrupt police officers” of spray painting bright red graffiti on his house and boat.

The attack came soon after Mr Quigley gained prominence in the WA political arena for assisting in having Andrew Mallard’s conviction for the 1994 murder of jeweller Pamela Lawrence overturned, after Mr Mallard spent 12 years in jail.

Mr Quigley found crucial evidence which secured a High Court decision to quash Mr Mallard’s conviction in 2006.

The then-shadow attorney-general was also fined in 2011 for threatening to reveal the identity of an undercover police officer, unless he agreed to tell the truth about his involvement in Mr Mallard’s case.