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AAP
AAP
Politics
Tess Ikonomou

Liberal Party has a 'lot of work to do': retiring MP

Former home affairs minister Karen Andrews announced her retirement at the next federal election. (Jono Searle/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

Liberal MP and retiring frontbencher Karen Andrews says her party has a "lot of work to do" to rebuild its standing across the nation.

Speaking from the Gold Coast after announcing she will be retiring from parliament at the next federal election, Ms Andrews said the Liberal Party needed to become better at communicating its principles.

"There's a lot of work that the Liberal National Party in Queensland has to do, and the Liberal Party right across Australia," she told reporters on Tuesday.

"I believe wholly and solely in the principles of the Liberal Party."

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton chose Liberal senator James Paterson as Ms Andrews' replacement in the home affairs portfolio.

Ms Andrews said she was "very confident" the LNP and Liberal Party will make an effort to preselect more women into winnable seats.

A review of the party's 2022 election loss found it performed "particularly poorly" with female voters, continuing a trend present since the 1996 election.

The former engineer and small business owner was first elected to the seat of McPherson in 2010 and was appointed to cabinet as industry minister in 2018.

In 2021 she was appointed to the role of home affairs minister.

Asked about her position on the Indigenous voice, Ms Andrews said while she did not support the government's proposed wording, she would not campaign against it.

"I will work towards making sure that the people on the southern Gold Coast have the opportunity to understand the question ... but I want to do that in a very neutral way," she said.

"I won't be out there wearing a shirt that says vote 'no'.

"This is a decision for each and every Australian, and I want to make sure that people are informed and that they make a decision that they are comfortable with."

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