Labor member for Perth Tim Hammond has announced he is quitting politics a year out from the election because he wants to spend more time with his kids.
The first term MP from Western Australia was already in the shadow ministry and was expected to be in the ministry if Labor wins the next election.
Hammond said in a statement that commuting from Perth to Canberra had impacted heavily on his family life.
"My wife Lindsay and I have tried incredibly hard to make this work," he said. "As well having relied upon support from family, friends and colleagues, I have actively sought out professional advice and assistance to try and preserve our family unit in a way that I felt confident would not suffer from my absence.
"But my time from home simply means that the strength of my relationships with my daughters and my son has been compromised. That is something that I promised to myself would never happen. And because of that, I feel that the only viable option for me is to resign from my role as a federal member of parliament and be the best dad that I can possibly be to my kids."
He told 6PR he intended to resign "very shortly", meaning that a by-election will be held in the near future in his seat.
Hammond said he tried to make it work by Facetiming his kids, but it just made the situation worse.
"Kids seeing my face on a screen made them miss me more," he said.
Hammond said he would delay resigning to allow staff to make other plans and deal with electoral commitments.
"The trigger of physically resigning to the Speaker has a lot of consequences for people other than me," he said.
Hammond said that given prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has said an election is still a year away, he couldn't hold off resigning until then.
"I know what I need to do in terms of being the dad I need to be ... The people of Perth also require and quite frankly deserve a representative ... I don't think I could look them in the eye and tell them I am doing the job if I'm doing it at half speed."
Hammond, 43, is young to be quitting politics, but said he can't see himself going back into public life.
"This is my go. I've been given so much support to get there ... What I do know is I've just got to lock into these little guys and to Lindsay and continue to make a contribution for me."
He said he would go back to the bar and practice law.
Labor leader Bill Shorten said in a statement that he respected Hammond's choice.
"As a colleague and a friend, I’m disappointed he won’t be part of our next Caucus but as a husband and a father, I’m glad he’ll be with the people he cares about most in this world."
His Labor colleagues were quick to throw their support behind Hammond.
All the best to my colleague @TimHammond1 his wife Lindsay and the kids. A great contributor to Parli and big loss to our Labor team.
. @TimHammond1 is a great mate of mine, an extraordinary political talent, and most importantly a caring and attentive dad. I’d rather he wasn’t leaving, and he’s a very big loss to our team, but Lindsay and the kids come first and we wish them well out West. #auspol
.@TimHammond1, you’ll be sorely missed- for your ideas, wit, energy & friendship. All the best to you, Lindsay & your beautiful kids. https://t.co/zDfcBHzBqW
Fellow Western Australian, Liberal minister for finance Mathias Cormann, said he was sad to hear the news.
"While we are political competitors, we are also friends and colleagues involved in the same profession focused on making a positive difference to our community and to our country," he said in a statement.