Labor leaders have not always been so gracious to Mr Kerr

DUNCAN Kerr was a candidate under Gough Whitlam, a minister under Paul Keating and a keeper of the faith in the long years of opposition. But today, after 41 years in the ALP and 22 years in federal parliament, the Labor MP for Denison is plotting a return to his other great love: the law. He told The Australian he had decided to leave politics at the next election to give him time to rekindle a career as a barrister … Mr Kerr, 57, will today (Friday) attend a last press conference, in Hobart, the heart of Denison. It was the once bellwether seat that he stole from longstanding Liberal MP Michael Hodgman in 1987 and gradually made safe Labor territory, with a margin of 16 per cent.This feat alone will see him depart politics with the gratitude of a party to which he has been devoted since the age of 16. “The government holds all five federal seats in Tasmania due to the tireless effort of people like Mr Kerr,” Kevin Rudd said yesterday. Labor leaders have not always been so gracious to Mr Kerr, whose attempt to switch to state politics in late 2001 was nobbled by then premier Jim Bacon and then federal leader Simon Crean. Years later, Mr Kerr complained he felt “hurt” by the experience, particularly as Mr Bacon had invited the move, only to “change his mind”. Mr Kerr, of Labor’s Left and a champion of human rights, was again encouraged to switch to state parliament in 2005, but cited the earlier experience and his concerns about state Labor’s environmental policies.His reported concerns about old-growth logging, in particular, did not go down well with sections of the party. Read more here
Matthew Denholm, The Australian
Duncan Kerr, ABC image