Arabic version: أماندا كام تتنحى عن منصبها الوزاري في كوينزلاند

According to ABC News, Queensland’s child safety and domestic and family violence minister Amanda Camm has confirmed she will step down from her role, a decision expected to prompt a mini cabinet reshuffle.

The Whitsunday MP advised Premier David Crisafulli of her decision the previous day and said it was her own decision. Camm returned a fortnight earlier from six weeks of sick leave after undergoing “major surgery”. She said her recovery was ongoing and would not be aided by the stresses and workload of the ministerial position.

Camm said the recent attack on Victorian MP Helen Haines had reinforced the importance of personal safety. She said public scrutiny and accountability were essential to democracy, but that harassment, threats, bullying and personal vilification were not, describing those experiences as part of the past year. She said she was proud of her work and did not say whether she would recontest her seat at the next election.

Her portfolio had drawn months of scrutiny, including over children in residential care sleeping on the floor of child safety offices and cuts to the domestic and family violence prevention sector in the state budget. During her two-year tenure, Camm oversaw the government’s response to major child-safety reviews, including the In Plain Sight Report and a Commission of Inquiry that made 52 recommendations in May.

Crisafulli said Camm had taken on a portfolio when the child-safety system was “broken” and praised work to improve call-answering rates at DV Connect. He did not name a successor, but said the portfolios would not be split. Opposition Leader Steven Miles called for a senior, experienced minister and said the new appointee should release a progress report on implementation of the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce recommendations.