Embattled Queensland minister Amanda Camm quits frontbench, citing harassment and health

On Friday, Queensland minister Amanda Camm stood before reporters and told them she was leaving the state cabinet. The decision, she said, was "mine alone." It ended months of pressure over how the Crisafulli government has handled the child safety system and its efforts to prevent domestic and family violence.

Camm held both portfolios, and together they made her job one of the most exposed in the ministry. Before she went on leave, she was regarded as the government's most under-pressure minister. Her relationship with Tim Mander, the sport and Olympics minister, had also drawn scrutiny in parliament and in the press, putting both of them under the spotlight.

But it was the substance of her two portfolios that did the most damage. The government came under fire over claims that children in state care were sleeping on the floor of government offices. Child protection workers tied that to government policies, including the cancelling of contracts with some residential care providers. On the domestic violence side, Camm faced criticism over budget cuts to prevention work and a lack of progress on reforms demanded by the previous government's women's safety and justice taskforce.

Guardian Australia also reported that Camm had buried the findings of a panel of domestic and family violence victim-survivors, findings that were highly critical of police. Her office told one panel member she was no longer welcome to contact them by phone.

In explaining her departure, Camm pointed to her health and to what she described as the treatment she had received. She had recently taken six weeks of medical leave, which included a surgical procedure. She said she had come to understand that her recovery would be "ongoing" and that, given the workload and "the ongoing stresses," she could not keep performing her ministerial duties. "It would be unfair to the government for me to take further leave," she said.

She also suggested that some of the criticism aimed at her had crossed a line. Over the past year, she said, she had experienced harassment, threats, bullying and vilification. She cited the recent alleged attack on federal MP Helen Haines, saying it had "reinforced the importance of taking concerns about personal health, safety and wellbeing of people in public life very seriously." She drew a distinction: public scrutiny and accountability are central to democracy and its institutions, she said, while harassment, threats, bullying and personal vilification are not. "There is much more work to be done," she added.

Premier David Crisafulli said he wanted to "support Amanda" and that she had not been removed over her performance.

A replacement was expected to be announced later on Friday. It is understood the government will not carry out a broader reshuffle, but will bring a new face into the ministry to take Camm's place. Among those reportedly in the frame for promotion is Amanda Stoker, a former senator and Morrison government figure who was elected to the state parliament in 2024. Who inherits the child safety and family violence portfolios, and what they do with the unresolved complaints, is now the question.